


I Made Myself to Better Love You

by fairytaleslayer



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Adora and Catra are runaways, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxious Adora (She-Ra), Canon-Typical Violence, Catra needs Adora just as much, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Healthy yet co-dependent relationship, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Savior Complex and dealing with that, just so much of it, she has pretty severe anxiety, they're just kiddos at first though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 88,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24824146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytaleslayer/pseuds/fairytaleslayer
Summary: '“Adora! We have to hurry c’mon!” Catra tugged on her best friend’s hand, urging her desperately to run faster. The girl behind her was exhausted, stumbling every other step but she gamely tried to keep pace with the quicker of the pair. They disappeared into the infamous Whispering Woods.The crashed stolen skiff burned brightly behind them, a beacon.'OrAdora and Catra grow up as feral Forest Children in the Whispering Woods and nothing on Etheria is more important to them than each other.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 878
Kudos: 2517





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started as an idea back when the first season aired as a 'What if Shadow Weaver's mind wiping abilities were a larger plot point that drove Adora and Catra together', but without more canon I wasn't comfortable writing it. Two years later, I remembered and have been writing constantly for the past three weeks.

“Adora! We have to hurry c’mon!” Catra tugged on her best friend’s hand, urging her desperately to run faster. The girl behind her was exhausted, stumbling every other step but she gamely tried to keep pace with the quicker of the pair. They disappeared into the infamous Whispering Woods.

The crashed stolen skiff burned brightly behind them, a beacon.

\--

_Five Hours Earlier_

Shadow Weaver was going to hurt Catra. Adora didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. She watched the person in charge of raising them for the Horde escort Catra away, hands painfully clawed into her best friend’s shoulder. Catra looked back, fear obvious on her face, but resignation too. 

She’d been told to return to the dorm and to the rest of their likely sleeping squad, but Adora couldn’t move. They hadn’t done anything wrong! She and Catra were just playing! 

So _maybe_ they were a little bit late for evening drill, but it was only thirty seconds. Not even Kyle got in trouble for being late by thirty seconds yet - they were still in the tenth years’ group. Only Catra ever got punished. It wasn’t _fair_.

Mustering up all her bravery, Adora took off at a sprint for Shadow Weaver’s office. It was closed when she got there. She couldn’t be too late, she just couldn’t. Adora tried the handle and threw her shoulder into the door, staggering through when it opened easily.

“What is the meaning of this Adora?” Shadow Weaver demanded imperiously. Catra was in front of her, held in place by the ever familiar red lightning that haunted Adora’s dreams.

Adora froze, but the sight of Catra staring at her with the tiniest bit of hope in her eyes steeled her nerves. “Leave her alone!” she yelled. “She didn’t do anything it’s my fault we were late!”

“Adora…” their caretaker’s voice calmed, a dramatic difference from the tone always aimed at Catra. “Do not lie to me. You know Catra _must_ be reined in. She has too great an influence on you, my child. Now return to your bed before there are consequences for you as well.”

There was a pause as Adora tried to come up with a plan. “No!” she yelled, shoving Shadow Weaver at the waist, breaking the sorceress’ concentration as Adora grabbed Catra by the hand and hauled her out of the office. “Run!” she hissed at her friend. “Hide.”

“Not without you,” Catra immediately denied.

“I’ll keep her busy and then I’ll find you.” There was angry yelling in the office behind them, and Adora gave Catra another gentle shove. “Go, she hasn’t hurt me.”

Catra’s eyes went wide. “Yeah Adora, you just don’t remem-” 

A pair of gnarled hands clamped down on Adora’s shoulders, making both girls scream. “You brats will be _have_!”

“RUN Catra!” Adora yelled, kicking at Shadow Weaver’s legs as she was neatly dragged away. Catra disappeared around the corner, but the Horde Commander didn’t seem to care anymore, her focus entirely on Adora. Instead of taking her back to the office, Shadow Weaver brought her to a larger room that Adora had only ever seen once, though it figured constantly in her nightmares.

\--

Adora struggled against the straps keeping her contained to the harsh wooden planks. Shadow Weaver was in front of her, saying something to the scary magic stone that she couldn’t hear. She’d tried to escape, but Shadow Weaver had caught her before getting too far and flung her against the table.

Now the red glow of the stone was increasing, and Adora could hear a crackling sound that sounded like Shadow Weaver’s magic. She whined, trying to wriggle free, but the straps held fast. 

Shadow Weaver finished her preparation, and approached Adora slowly. “I wish you wouldn’t make me keep doing this, my dear Adora,” she cooed. Adora shivered. “It really does slow your progress, and I expect _great_ things from you. You will rise through the Horde’s ranks, even if I have to _force_ you.” She brought a hand up to Adora’s temple, red lightning hissing in her palm. Adora screamed in terror as it came into contact with her skin.

It hurt it hurt it hurt. Make it stop - make it _stop_.

There was a slam, followed by the familiar sound of the discharge of a stun baton, and Shadow Weaver _shrieked_. Adora forced her eyes open against the pain in her head to see Shadow Weaver kneeling on the ground, holding one hand over her now cracked mask with the little gem in the forehead shattered against the ground, wailing.

Catra was standing next to her, shoulders heaving and holding the baton. She dropped it with a clatter and ran to begin fumbling with the buckles holding Adora down. “We have to go,” she said hurriedly. She hissed and gave up on undoing the straps to just slash through them with her claws. She helped Adora off the table and caught her when she tripped on shaky legs. “C’mon.”

If Catra thought Adora might hesitate to leave Shadow Weaver, she needn’t have worried. Adora never even looked back, following Catra with absolute trust that her friend knew what she was doing. Catra led them to the skiff hangar, helping Adora clamber into one in a corner. Adora tiredly walked Catra through starting and steering a skiff as they huddled in the bottom to hide from any patrols. Catra had not attended Skiff Orientation.

There was shouting as the skiff flew out of the hangar with seemingly no one driving it, but they quickly outstripped any pursuit that might happen before they could get organized. “Where are we going?” Catra shouted over the sound of the engine.

“I don’t know,” Adora shrugged. She bit her lip, scanning the surrounding area for any place that might be safe to run to, hardly able to comprehend that they were even trying to _run_ from the Horde. From their home. If they were caught...they’d be dead meat. She caught sight of the Whispering Woods in the distance. They were told stories of the horrible things that happened to soldiers that wandered into the woods. Hardly any of them ever came back out. “There,” she decided, pointing straight at the forest. Catra didn’t question her, adjusting course.

Or, well. She tried.

Turns out steering a flying ship was difficult, and Catra overcorrected, sending the skiff wobbling in a weaving pattern. The tip of the ship caught in the dirt and the girls went flying forward. Adora cried out as her already hurting head impacted the ground fairly hard while Catra hissed and whined as her claws dug into the dirt and she did her best to land on her feet.

Catra shook herself off and dragged Adora to standing. “Let’s go,” she murmured, giving Adora a quick hug before grabbing her hand. The forest was still over a mile away. Horde soldiers would definitely be after them by now. Shadow Weaver would want at least Adora back, though she probably didn’t care if Catra died in the process. Catra huffed, ignoring that thought and tugging on Adora to go faster. 

A few minutes later, the woods didn’t look any closer, and Catra’s ears flickered back, just picking up the faint sounds of skiff motors in the far distance. “Adora! We have to hurry c’mon!”

The two kids stumbled into the forest edge a small eternity later but didn’t dare stop. The skiffs were getting louder. Adora glanced up. “This way,” she said quietly, leading for the first time. 

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Come on.” There was a tiny path - maybe from some animal? - and Adora followed it persistently.

“Adoraaa, they’re getting _louder_ ,” Catra whispered, voice scared. The Horde was coming closer. She could hear individual voices now and they were all shouting orders about finding the girls. “Adora! Oof!” She ran into Adora’s solid back and fell flat on her butt.

Adora pointed at a thick tree trunk that had a gaping hole a few feet off the ground. “There!” she said excitedly. They both scrambled for it. Catra helped hoist Adora in then used her claws to crawl up the wood. “Shh.” Adora held a finger to her lips, then peeked out of the trunk. “Ah!” She ducked quickly back down. “Scoot back, scoot back!”

“I _can’t,_ ” Catra hissed. 

“They’re gonna find us!”

The two girls hid their faces in each others’ shoulders, waiting for the inevitable. They could hear one soldier stalking forward outside, his boots clanking and baton crackling. “-all the way out here for two little brats,” he growled. “When Shadow Weaver gets her hands on them -” 

Catra whimpered and Adora held her closer. _Please please please_. They couldn’t be caught now. “It’s gonna be ok,” she whispered in Catra’s ear. “I promise.” 

There was a snapping sound of branches breaking, then the soldier suddenly screamed. “Beast!” he yelled out the warning. A snarl was followed by the sounds of some stampeding animal. 

Adora flinched at the sight of some _huge_ thing with horns sticking out of its _face_. She ducked back under the rim of the hole again. She waited for Catra to give the okay that she couldn’t hear them anymore, then crawled out of the hole. She landed with a thud as her legs gave out. “Catra, my head hurts,” she did her best not to whine, but it was still pounding.

“I know. Mine too.” Catra stiffened. “Adora!”

“What?”

Catra grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her, which just made Adora’s head hurt worse. “Do you remember what happened today?” she asked desperately.

“Of course I do, what are you talking about? We had morning spar, then brown ration bars - bleh - Kyle got shoved into a locker by Lonnie, afternoon simulation training, we were late to evening drill because we were playing up in our spot, and Shadow Weaver got mad at you, like _always_ , even though it was my fault we were late ‘cause I didn’t want to leave, and then I came and got you and you came and got me,” Adora rambled out her report of the whole day. “And then we stole a skiff and we flew here and now we’re in some big scary forest and Catra! What if there are princesses here?!”

Catra looked relieved for a moment before she put on a nonchalant face. “Pfft, as if a _princess_ could scare me after today,” she said with some bravado. “Dude. Adora, you hit _Shadow Weaver_! And I electrocuted her! And we _lived_ to talk about it! How insane is that?!”

Adora rubbed her arm anxiously. “Catra? What do we do now?”

“Not go back to the Horde for a start. We deserted. They’d send us to the front lines. Or worse - Beast Island.” Both girls shuddered at that idea. If the Whispering Woods was bad, they’d heard Beast Island was a thousand times worse. _No one_ survived Beast Island.

“But - there’s only the Rebellion otherwise.” That was an even worse option. All those stories of the horrors the princesses could wield with their evil magics. They’d probably be taken prisoner for being the enemy and tortured for information on the Horde. “They’re on the other side of this forest, right?”

Catra nodded. “I heard Octavia once saying something about the forest protecting the Rebellion or something. It’s the only thing keeping the Horde from crushing the Rebellion in a week tops since the Princess Alliance fell apart forever ago. Oh!” A sly grin crossed Catra’s face. “While I was following you and Shadow Weaver to that room, Octavia caught me.”

“What’d you do?” Adora asked, eyes wide.

Her best friend’s face was as proud as she’d ever seen it. “Scratched out her other eye and stole her baton! Now it’s mine!” Catra swung around the weapon she’d somehow managed to keep a hold of, making swooshing noises as she did. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Wow,” Adora murmured. “She didn’t hurt you did she?”

“What?” Catra’s fur poofed out and her voice went squeaky. “ _No!_ As if Octavia would ever be fast enough to catch _me_ ,” she scoffed.

Adora looked around, trying to find anything that might be safe for them to sleep. Or something that might be food. Her stomach rumbled right on time. Catra’s too, almost as a response. “What do people eat besides ration bars?” Adora wondered.

Catra shrugged. “I dunno. You don’t think it’s leaves, do you?”

Glancing up at the trees, Adora shook her head. “I don’t think so? Maybe we should just look around.”

“What if we get lost?” Catra didn’t sound too worried about it, but someone had to ask.

“We’re in the Whispering Woods. I don’t think we can get _more_ lost.”

Catra grinned over at her best friend. “We get to have an adventure!” she exclaimed.

Adora giggled and took Catra’s hand.

\--

The first night was hard. Neither of the girls found anything they thought would be safe eating, although Adora _had_ eventually tried a leaf before promptly spitting it out. Catra had fallen over laughing at the look on her face. The next morning, Catra woke up with worse hunger pains, grumpy and wishing for even a brown ration bar. She stayed curled around Adora, tail thumping gently against her friend’s back to keep her sleeping a little while longer. 

They used to do it all the time as kids, but in the last year had gotten into more and more trouble every night they tried to sleep in the same bed. Shadow Weaver had even dragged Catra to her office for additional ‘lessons’ some nights when she caught them red-handed. Catra snuggled in closer to Adora’s side, relishing the warmth she’d missed for months.

Eventually, Adora began squirming and kicking a little bit. Catra smiled as she watched her friend literally fight her way into wakefulness. Little too much Horde in her, probably. Always fighting. “Hey, Adora,” she called softly, starting to purr and help Adora wake up easier. “It’s morning.”

Adora gave a tiny little snort, making Catra giggle. A hand came up to rub gently at the base of one of Catra’s ears. Catra stiffened for a moment before her purr doubled in volume and she nestled down into the soothing scratches. “Mornin’,” Adora mumbled. 

“Food?” Catra asked hopefully. There had to be _something_ in this forest they could eat.

“Yeah. Food,” Adora agreed. “Let’s go a little deeper into the trees. We can’t just stay on the edge and hope the Horde won’t find us. We’ll be safer in the thicker part of the forest.”

Catra couldn’t really argue with that so they set out. Catra sprung around, reveling in her new freedom to jump and climb where she pleased and no authorities to yell at her or get her in trouble. Adora stuck to the path, head still aching from the day before and stomach yelling for food, but she did enjoy watching Catra have fun for the first time in a long while. They used to be more carefree when they were younger.

There was a rustling in the bushes. Adora froze. “Catra?” she whispered, not even daring to move her lips. “Catra?” Catra landed next to her a moment later, hands up and claws out.

“What is it?”

“Something’s in there.” Adora nodded at the bush right in front of them. Catra nudged her hip out at Adora, prompting her to take the stun baton while she stuck with her claws. Adora activated it with a crack, and just as they were about to charge, a tottering, short old lady with the brightest clothes either of the girls had ever seen wandered out.

A staring contest ensued. Catra looked at Adora - back at the old lady. Adora was fixed on the old lady - then on to Catra - then back. The woman stared at both of them. Her face cracked into a wide grin. “Mara dearie! You are late for the pie making you are!” She trotted over and grabbed Adora by the cheek, dragging her back into the bushes.

“Hey! Wait!” Catra squeaked, taking off after her.

“You’re shorter than I remember you Mara! Did I go through a growth spurt? I’m far too old for those. Come, you’re almost late for pie.”

Adora stumbled along, her wrist now held in a surprisingly firm grip rather than her face. “Pie? What’s that - who are you? My name’s Adora, not Mara.”

“Yes, yes Mara dear,” the strange woman waved her off. “So much to do today!” It didn’t take long for them to reach a strange little hut dug into the woods that the woman hauled Adora inside of. “Now...where did I put that broom?” she muttered. “Broom! Where are you? Come come Mara, find my broom.”

“Uh - you mean, that broom?” Adora asked hesitantly, pointing at the broom leaning against the fireplace in plain sight.

Catra tumbled into the hut. “Adora! Are you okay?” She frantically checked Adora over for any new injuries.

“I’m fine. I think she’s just a confused old lady?” Adora side-eyed the woman rustling around various tables and shelves, talking to herself. 

“We should get out of here Adora,” Catra warned. “What if she’s a princess?” Her ears were flat against her head and she looked like she was about to hiss as her tail whipped back and forth anxiously.

Adora shook her head. “She’s not going to hurt us - I don’t think. And besides, I think a - pie - is something you can eat. Maybe she’ll let us have some?”

The growling stomach won out over Catra’s fears. “Fine. But if we die, I’m blaming you.”

“Come come Mara dearie, and bring your new friend!” The woman beckoned at the both of them from the doorway. When had she gotten all the way over there? Adora hadn’t even noticed her passing them. “You promised to help Madame Razz with berry picking today!”

“R-Right.” Catra squeezed Adora’s hand and followed her back outside, neither of them letting go. Too much had happened over the last day for them to let the other out of their sight.

Razz led the girls deeper into the woods before stopping abruptly at some bushes with a bunch for round, red - things - on them. “Are these...berries?” Catra asked. Adora could only shrug. But Razz started stripping them quickly from the bush, so the pair followed suit. Eventually, curiosity got the better of Catra and she held a handful up to the strange lady, a little scared. “Can I eat these?”

“Berries for the pie, it’s pie day today Mara’s friend!” Razz said cheerfully.

Not really needing any other convincing, Catra shoved some of the ‘berries’ into her mouth. A sweet flavor unlike anything she’d ever tasted burst across her tongue, followed by a tart feeling. Her ears flicked up and her tail went ramrod straight in excitement. “Adora,” she mumbled. “You gotta try these.” 

The girls ate about as many berries as went into the basket, but eventually it was full. Adora wandered off to see if there were any more bushes with the food on them, and stopped when she saw a strange looking building in front of her. It looked like it was made of crystal. Something seemed to glow from the inside and, entranced, Adora stepped closer. She was about to put her hand out to touch it when something hard _whacked_ across her head.

“Not time, not time,” Razz scolded her, bringing the broom back to her side. Where had that even come from? “No, not the time! Pie!” She grabbed Adora by the collar and dragged her back into the bushes.

“Hey wait! What was that?” It felt important. Like Adora was supposed to go inside. How did she know there was an inside? Catra was following, looking more confused than she’d ever been but not quite knowing how to handle the crazy lady.

Razz plopped Adora down in a chair when they were suddenly at her hut. In what seemed like just a few seconds later, she’d assembled some dish holding the berries covered by a mixture of something. Razz snapped her fingers and a fire appeared in the pit. Both Adora and Catra screeched and jumped backward, ready for a fight. “What was that?” Catra hissed, claws out.

“Was that magic? Are you a princess?”

Razz just hummed happily and put the pie near the fire and set a timer. She scanned the girls up and down, scrutinizing them. “You and your friend are too skinny, Mara dear.”

“I said my name’s _Adora_.”

Razz’ eyes narrowed. “Nope! Not time yet for Adora, too soon too soon. Mara, what are you doing, talking about Adora? It’s not time for her yet, dearie.”

“She knows who you are?” Catra asked, head tilted.

“I have no idea.”

Catra yawned, sleepy again now that her stomach was full, and curled up near the fire. “Well, then I’m taking a nap until this pie thing is done. I want to see how berries taste hot.”

Adora sat down next to her and ran her hand through Catra’s hair, immediately setting her friend to purring. It didn’t take long for Catra to settle into the deep breaths of sleep. She listened to Catra with one ear, ready for any nightmares, and listened to Razz mumble on about various things. The lady was actually very informative when allowed to ramble. Adora learned about creatures who lived in the forest, and how if you payed attention, some dust motes that glowed could lead you to unexplored but useful places. Apparently Razz regularly held conversations with certain trees, and they listened. They could _help_. Help with what, Adora wasn’t sure, but she made a note of it. She and Catra would need all the help they could get to learn how to survive here, and Razz was the best option they were going to get.

\--

After the weird day with Razz, Catra and Adora settled into making a home for themselves in the Whispering Woods. They decided living up in one of the trees was probably a good idea, to avoid any nasties that might wander around at night. They were still too nervous to stay with Madame Razz but they stuck close. Especially if she was going to make more pies. Catra had eaten half of the one Razz made that first day in less than a minute, with Adora not far behind. It was a million times better than even the gray ration bars at the Horde.

Just like Razz had said, the trees were accommodating to the two children that had wandered their way in, and seemed aware to a certain extent. While they were planning strategies in the early days of how they were going to build a home, Adora had happened to look up and stop dead in her tracks. Catra had been nearly pulled off her feet when the hand she was holding didn’t keep up with her. Adora had always been the stronger of the pair.

“Hey Adora? What is it?”

Adora just pointed up with her mouth slightly open. Two trees were slowly weaving their branches together into a platform, with their leaf tops crowding to form a roof, it looked like. “Is that - for us?” Adora asked, voice wavering nervously. A warm wind blew through the trees, ruffling their clothes as if in answer. Gold motes like Razz had mentioned swarmed around the new tree hut structure before disappearing. “I think our place to live problem is solved,” Adora grinned. 

Catra immediately clawed up one of the trunks to go explore their new house. “Adora! This is so cool! Get up here!”

“I’m coming.” Adora giggled and climbed up to join Catra. She wasn’t nearly as graceful, but she managed. She would get faster the more they had to do it, and they’d probably be doing this for a long time. Neither of them were willing to go anywhere near the Rebellion or its princesses. Staying in the woods was safest.

\--

Learning to live with just each other after a lifetime surrounded by others and learning to survive in the wilds was a long process for both Catra and Adora. There was bickering, and sometimes all out fights - especially when long standing hurts from back when they lived in the Horde came into play. 

Six months into their new life was their worst fight to date. Winter was approaching, which they only knew about because the nights were getting colder and Madame Razz had said something about it and the berries disappearing. The Horde, with all its technology and pollution spilling into the sky, didn’t really have seasons. Adora might have mentioned, a bit desperately, that maybe they could tough out the winter by going back inside the Fright Zone to avoid the cold. She hadn’t meant to go back to the Horde, but Catra had misunderstood and immediately gone on the offensive.

“Just admit you want to go back to the Horde, Adora!” she yelled. “‘Cause, what? You had it so much better, right?”

“I don’t!” Adora retorted. “Catra they _hurt_ you, I’m never going back. But that - that was the first time Shadow Weaver was going to hurt me, maybe if we go there, and I’m the only one wandering around and get caught, she won’t punish me.”

“IT _WASN’T_!”

Adora froze. Catra was panting, her claws out and all her fur standing on end as she glared at Adora. “What - what do you mean?” Catra hissed and looked away, her hands clenched so hard Adora was worried her claws would break skin. Adora took both of her fists and gently forced her to loosen her grip so that she could hold them. “What do you mean, Catra?”

Catra was looking everywhere but at her with an expression moving between anger and guilt. “The night we escaped the Horde wasn’t the first time we tried to run away,” she finally confessed.

“What are you talking about? Yes it was,” Adora said, confused.

“ _No_. It wasn’t. You just - you don’t remember all the other ones.” Catra’s tail drooped to the ground, which it only did when Catra was utterly exhausted or sad. 

“I don’t...remember?”

Catra growled. “Shadow Weaver hurt me, yeah. All the time. And every time you saw her doing it, you tried to run away with me. And every _single_ time, we got caught. I would get thrown into solitary for a couple days as punishment, and when I got out, you wouldn’t remember a thing. Shadow Weaver _did_ something to you to make you forget trying to protect me, and I couldn’t _stop_ her from doing it Adora!” Catra collapsed to the ground, sniffling into her knees. 

It was a lot to take in all at once. Her memories...weren’t real? How much of her life had Adora forgotten? How much of Catra had she _forgotten_? Overwhelming anger filled her briefly, but Adora forced herself to shut it down. Catra needed her right now. She knelt beside her best friend, placing a careful hand on her shoulder. Catra stiffened but relaxed after a moment. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save us,” Adora murmured, “that I couldn’t keep us safe and that I forgot. But Catra - you _did_ protect us. You kept Shadow Weaver from hurting me again and you got us away from the Horde. You’re my _hero_ Catra.”

Catra stilled, her crying stuttering to a stop. She came out of her hiding place behind her knees to stare into Adora’s eyes in awe. “R-Really?”

“You _saved_ us, Catra. Of course you are. You’re my best friend and you always will be. As long as we’re together, nothing bad can happen.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” She hadn’t broken one yet, and she wasn’t going to start now. 

\--

The Whispering Woods couldn’t _talk_ , so to speak, but if they could, they’d spend all their days discussing the adventures of their little feral forest children. Madame Razz had been the first, and the woods still didn’t really understand her comings and goings through time, but the two younger ones they took great joy in. Their excitement over every little thing the trees brought them each day and the way they always wanted to learn more about their home kept the woods more entertained than they ever had been. Even when the last She-Ra had been around. They knew the potential for one of the children, the daughter of the Eternians, but it wasn’t time yet. It wasn’t time.

As the children grew, the trees introduced them to larger beasts, more challenging scenarios, letting them play and grow and learn to trust each other even more than they always had. The Whispering Woods was magical yes, but it was also _old_. It remembered the magics locked away in the planet - one of the few to remember. And the two girls now living there were capable of having a great impact on the war that had been hurting the woods for so many years.

Their children were getting older though. Perhaps it was time to introduce a new...wrinkle into their lives. They were ready for it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora begins to discover her destiny.

Adora couldn’t sleep. Catra was curled right up next to her, purring happily in her sleep with her tail wrapped tightly around Adora’s ankle. They weren’t quite sure how long they’d been living in the Whispering Woods, but four winters had passed, so they were probably around fourteen. Maybe getting close to fifteen. Not like they really knew how old they were in the Horde before, anyways. The only thing the Horde kept track of was yearly rankings. But long enough that they’d both gone through enough growth spurts and filled out with enough muscle to need new clothes, finally ditching the Horde uniforms of their childhood. They were now in outfits stolen from a tailor in a nearby town that Catra had left one of her hunting kills as payment for.

Something had been itching at the back of Adora’s mind for the last week. Like the trees were trying to tell her something. While Catra thrived in the forest and was responsible for most of their day to day survival, Adora was better at listening to what the woods wanted to tell them and adapting. They had lost their fear of the magic in the trees years ago. The forest had definitely been looking out for them from the beginning.

Her and Catra had also gotten better at communicating over the years. All their leftover grievances from the Horde - Catra’s young jealousy of Adora seemingly being favored by Shadow Weaver had already mostly petered out by the time they ran away, but the rest was extinguished after their big blowup at each other before their first winter alone. For her part, Adora had learned how to protect Catra without being overbearing and making her think that Adora didn’t believe she could handle herself or that Adora thought herself superior. It had been a learning curve for both of them, but they were closer now than they had been even as little kids. 

“Cat?” Her friend gave a cute little ‘mrrp’, which made Adora want to coo, but she’d learned long ago not to draw attention to when Catra was being cute if she wanted it to keep happening. So she just smiled and kept it to herself. “I’m heading out. I’ll see you tonight?” Catra grunted her agreement. She had learned the joys of sleeping in without sirens calling for morning drill. Adora hadn’t managed to drop the habit of early morning rising, so she just pressed a kiss to Catra’s temple as she left the bed. Catra’s purring doubled. The physicality was a new development, and Adora didn’t really know what she was doing with it, but they both liked the affection - even if Catra would never admit it while fully awake - so Adora kept doing it.

Adora crept out of their tree house and into the morning light. She didn’t know what the woods wanted from her today, but there were little golden motes strung along in a line, so probably best to get started on following them before the trees got impatient with her. She’d learned not to delay when they wanted to show her something. “I’m going, I’m going,” she reassured them.

Where she was going turned out to be a small clearing. Or at least, that’s where the motes stopped. “Alright. Now what?” she asked the surrounding trees. A blue glow built beyond the trees to her right, growing brighter before it died down. “Whoa,” she murmured. The glow pulsed again, and again. Like a heartbeat. “Is that what you wanted me to find?” Adora fought through some underbrush and stumbled into another clearing. “What?”

A large sword was stabbed into a small pile of rocks in the center of the area. It was emitting the pulsing light. 

“Huh. Cool,” Adora breathed. Catra would _die_ of excitement to see such an awesome looking weapon in the middle of nowhere. Something inside urged her to get closer. Reaching a hand out, Adora nervously touched just a finger to the red gem on the hilt. The previous glow became suddenly blinding, forcing Adora to cover her eyes.

‘ _Balance must be restored. Etheria must seek a hero.’_

“Ah!” Adora wanted to run away, but she couldn’t make her feet move.

‘ _Will you answer the call, Adora? Will you fight for the honor of Grayskull?’_

“What? What’s Grayskull? Wait. I’m not fighting anything! Me and Catra, we’re done! I don’t understand.”

‘ _Y_ _ou will.’_

* * *

“Adora? _Adora_!” 

The voice in her ear made Adora groan. Her head was _killing_ her.

“Adora wake up!”

“Catra?” Adora’s eyes flickered open to find that she was sprawled on the ground, the sword from before clenched in one hand and Catra knelt over her. 

Catra sighed in relief and helped Adora sit up. “You scared me half to death, don’t _do_ that!”

“I was - this sword! It glowed all bright and then there was this _voice_ …”

“Voice? What are you talking about? Are you brain damaged pleasedon’tbebraindamaged.” Catra peered into Adora’s eyes as if she could tell if she was injured from just that.

Adora chuckled and shoved her friend away. “I’m not brain damaged. But there _was_ a voice. The woods led me here. I think - they _wanted_ me to find this.”

There was a pause as they both stared at the sword and then at the trees surrounding them. Eventually, Catra shrugged. “Well, if you think the forest meant for you to find it, then I guess bring it back home. They’ve never been wrong before. And _you_ ,” she glared at the sword. “If you mess around or hurt her with any other voices or visions, I will turn you into a toothpick.” Adora burst into giggles, making Catra smile sheepishly. “Just - next time don’t wander off on your own if you’re gonna do dumb stuff you dummy. You’re such an idiot.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” 

Catra ruffled Adora’s hair, making her friend huff and tackle her with a laugh, dropping the sword. A rapid game of chase ensued until they had both thoroughly worn themselves out from laughing so hard. Only then did Adora pick the sword back up and throw her other arm around Catra’s shoulders as they set out for their home.

The Whispering Woods hummed to itself in satisfaction as it kept an eye on its playing children. The first steps had been taken today. Etheria didn’t need She-Ra quite yet, it wasn’t time. But when it did, their forest children would be ready.

* * *

Adora held the sword in her hands the next morning, waiting to see if the voice would talk to her again. “Come on,” she muttered. “Do the thing!” She shook it, but the weapon stayed stubbornly silent. “Figures when I _want_ you to do bright shiny things you do nothing.” Was the sword magical? Was that why the Whispering Woods were so insistent on her going to the clearing? “Hey Catra?”

“Yeah?” Catra was busy skinning the boar she’d caught that morning. They’d needed to make a longer blanket for their bed since their latest growth spurt, and more food never went amiss. 

“You’ve been over near that direction before haven’t you? Hunting? Did you ever - _see_ a sword at all? Or anything else weird?”

Catra scoffed. “No. If I’d found something as cool as that, I would have told you, believe me.”

“Huh. It looked like it’d been there a while. And it was _inside_ a rock. I don’t even remember pulling it out.”

“Yeah, you’re strong Adora - _maybe_ stronger than me but don’t get a big head about it - but not even you are strong enough to pull a sword out of a rock.” Catra shrugged. “Must’ve been magic.”

It was weird that they talked about magic so easily after growing up terrified of the barest mention of it. But the woods had shown them that not all magic had to be evil long ago, and they trusted the trees. Adora gave a little practice swing. The weapon was a lot lighter than she expected for how big it was. Magic or not, it would be a good replacement for the staff she’d made from a sturdy branch years ago. The stun baton had run out of charge a month after they ran away and had been useless for a long time. “Think I can learn how to use a sword?”

“Well, I can guarantee you’ll be the best swordsman in all the Whispering Woods. You know, since there’s no one else _here_ ,” Catra teased.

Adora huffed and shoved Catra playfully, who shoved back, and they quickly devolved into another wrestling match, rolling around the tree hut floor as the trees whispered contentedly overhead.

* * *

“Are you _sure_ this is the right way?” Glimmer groaned as she followed Bow, who was following his tracker pad.

“Of course! I mean - I _was_. It’s near here, but the signal’s so strong I think it’s messing with my pad.” He shook the tracker and tapped the screen, trying to make it clear up. “We just have to keep looking. We’ll find it, and then the queen will _have_ to take you seriously.”

Glimmer scanned the trees around them. They all looked exactly like the ones near Brightmoon, and she had no idea how they were going to find their way back. Maybe they shouldn’t have gone so deep on their own. The Rebellion was barely holding off the Horde, villages were in danger, and they couldn’t afford to lose anything else. Rumor had it the Horde was on the move again, and they needed whatever this First One’s tech that Bow had located was. Maybe it would help in the war. “I hope you’re right,” Glimmer murmured. 

* * *

Catra stiffened, one ear swiveling as she picked up a sound. One she hadn’t heard in over a year near their house. “Adora!” she hissed. “Adora, wake up!” She kicked her friend lightly. 

“Huh?” Adora jolted awake. She’d been practicing with the sword all afternoon and had been exhausted, falling asleep on Catra right after they ate dinner. Catra had amused herself with petting Adora’s hair, something she rarely got a chance to do since Adora never took it down. She really liked Adora touching her hair and scratching her ears, so Adora probably liked it too. It felt so _good_.

“There’s people coming!”

Adora was immediately on alert. “Horde soldiers?”

Catra listened more carefully, then shook her head. “No metal. And - I think they’re arguing? Just two of them. They sound pretty young,” she reported.

“Okay, not Horde. Not Razz. Could be from the villages? Maybe they’re lost?”

“Maybe.” Catra didn’t sound convinced. It was pretty late for villagers to be traveling around.

Now Adora could hear them too. They really were being loud - too loud for the Whispering Woods if you didn’t live there. Didn’t they know about all the dangers? Especially at night. Even Catra didn’t do too much wandering at night after a couple close calls. “What do we do? Do we take them home? Stay hidden?”

“I - I don’t know, okay? I’m thinking!”

They ran out of time to come up with a plan as two kids that didn’t look any older than them stumbled into the clearing below them. “Glimmer! I think we’re close!” the boy said excitedly. “My tracker pad is freaking out even more than it was!”

“Well,” Catra muttered. “ _He’s_ enthusiastic - that’s nauseating. Adora, grab your sword.” Time to do something.

“Catra, wait. We’re not going to - hurt them - are we?” Adora asked hesitantly. Since being away from the Horde, Adora had found her veracity for violence had decreased. She could defend herself and Catra just as well as she used to, but she didn’t relish the idea of attacking anyone for the sake of it.

Catra bumped her head against Adora’s jaw affectionately, reassuring her with a purr. “Not unless they hurt us. I just want to be prepared, okay? I’ll go out first, see what they’re doing here. Sounds like they’re just looking for something - probably not us. You cover my back, just in case there’s more.”

“Alright.” Adora nodded resolutely and climbed out their back escape hatch that she had requested from the trees the year before when they’d needed more than one exit. Catra snuck out along the tree branches, keeping low and observing the two teens who were at least quietly arguing now. 

“We followed your signal all the way out here, we’re _miles_ from home, but I still don’t see anything. Do you, Bow?”

Bow and Glimmer - Catra made a note of their names. They were - sparkly. Not as bright as Razz’ cloak, but almost an eyesore in the darkened forest nonetheless. Catra much preferred the neutral colors she and Adora had grown accustomed to wearing. They hurt her eyes less than the white and red of the Horde. And at the least the boy appeared to have a bow and quiver, so maybe they weren’t complete dunces. The girl had no visible weapons.

“No Glimmer, I don’t. But - it has to be around here somewhere! Maybe it’s an energy source or, or a weapon! _Something_ we can use against the Horde. It just _has_ to be.”

Not friends of the Horde then - not all that surprising, given the sparkles and the fact that the Horde didn’t _have_ friends. Or allies. It was pretty much them against the world. So they probably wouldn’t hurt her or Adora if they didn’t attack first. “Hey!” she yelled, moving up into a crouch. “What are you doing here?”

The other pair screamed and leapt into each other’s arms before falling over. Catra almost laughed and ruined her image because of how ridiculous they looked. “Who - who are you?” the girl asked once she’d recovered a little bit.

“ _I’m_ asking the questions here,” Catra said gruffly. “You’re trespassing and drawing attention to us. I suggest you leave.”

The boy - Bow, Catra reminded herself, how unoriginal - stared up at her. “What _are_ you doing here? No one lives in these woods.”

Catra scoffed. “Shows how much you know, Arrow Boy. Now - leave.”

“The Whispering Woods is under the Rebellion’s protection,” the girl - _Glimmer_ \- said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“Is that what you tell yourself Sparkles?” Catra laughed. “The Whispering Woods is the only thing keeping the Rebellion from being swallowed by the Horde in a matter of days. You guys don’t stand a chance without it.” These people worked with the _princesses_. They couldn’t be trusted. The Rebellion was all well and good, as Catra and Adora had figured out over the years, but they still didn’t trust the princesses’ magics. The magic of the nature surrounding them was one thing, but they had experienced firsthand what magic in the hands of people could do. They had been tortured enough.

Glimmer stomped her foot. Like - actually stomped her foot in frustration. Catra didn’t even know how to respond to that. “We came here on a mission, and we _aren’t_ leaving until we’ve accomplished it!”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Hey Adora?”

Adora appeared between the trees behind the other pair, sword at the ready. At the same time, Bow’s pad started going insane. “Uh.” He tapped Glimmer’s shoulder urgently. “Glimmer!” he hissed, pointing at the sword. “That’s it!” 

Both Catra and Adora froze in place, eyes meeting briefly before concentrating again. If these people thought they were going to give up what the forest had given to Adora, they had another thing coming. Catra launched herself from the tree to land between Adora and the others. “Back. Off,” she hissed, claws out. “The Whispering Woods are _our_ home, and you’ve overstayed your welcome.”

Bow seemed to be the calmer of the pair, so when Glimmer looked like she was about to explode, he put a hand on her shoulder and stepped in front. “We don’t want a fight you guys, and we aren’t here to steal anything. You’re - you’re the Forest Children, aren’t you?”

“The what?” Adora blurted out.

“The villages around here have been talking about you guys for years. They say two kids raised by the woods can sometimes be seen running wild, and if you ever get lost, they’ll guide you home,” Bow explained. “That’s you two, isn’t it?”

“And what of it?” Catra said defensively. “We’re not giving you the sword - it’s Adora’s. The woods gave it to her, so unless you do want that fight, you better go home.”

An earth shattering roar split the air, interrupting their argument. “And _that’s_ why we wanted to keep this low profile,” Adora muttered. “Bugs?” she asked Catra.

“Sure sounded like it. Coming from your left. What’re you thinking?”

Adora looked around, strategy forming in her head. Catra might be a better long term strategist, but Adora was best for on the spot thinking. “You - Bow, was it? Our house is just over your head. You get up there and cover us. And you - what is it you do exactly?” she asked Glimmer.

The other girl huffed, pink sparkling light glowing in her palms suddenly. Glimmer was a _princess._

Both Catra and Adora recoiled, but before they could start shouting they were bowled over by a stampeding spider like creature. Catra hissed, landing on her feet before springing at the monster’s eyes. “This is why we don’t go out at night, Adora!” she complained. 

“Not much choice now, is there? Bow! Get in that tree now!” she ordered.

Glimmer grabbed Bow and they disappeared only to reappear in the branches above. Adora stared a second too long, allowing the giant spider monster to trap her between its pincers. As it was about to clamp down, Glimmer appeared again beside Adora and disappeared with her. Adora’s stomach heaved as she was suddenly across the clearing and she gagged, almost losing her dinner. Bow was shooting various arrows at the spider, trying to slow it down and not hit Catra.

The spider roared as Catra successfully took out one of its eyes and jerked up, dislodging Catra and flinging her across the way into the trunk of a tree. She collided with the wood in a resounding crash and fell to the ground, stunned. “ _Catra!_ ” Adora screamed. The spider was closing in on the prey that had injured it. It reared on its back legs, ready to trample Catra into the dirt, before Adora dashed forward to put herself protectively over Catra’s limp body. The sword was raised over her head, and right as the spider’s pincers were about to make contact with the blade, the white light Adora had only seen once before filled the entire clearing, blinding everyone in it.

‘ _Adora. Adora. Will you fight for the honor of Grayskull?’_

Adora centered herself and gave in to the feeling rising within from the words echoing around her. Anything to protect Catra. “For the honor - of - _Grayskull!_ ”

Her voice reverberated between the trees, sure and clear, and when the light faded Adora was - different. She felt stronger, bigger, like she could handle anything. She brought the sword up again, cleanly slicing off one of the spider’s pincers. It screamed in pain and stumbled away as Adora quickly lost concentration and her hold on whatever this new form was. Her knees gave out, but she was caught at the last second by a shaky, barely recovered Catra. 

Catra quickly checked Adora over, scared out of her mind at seeing her friend’s body change and then change back in a matter of seconds. It was like… “What did you _do_ to her?!” she yelled at Glimmer.

It was like magic.

“What do you mean what did _I_ do to her?” Glimmer snapped back.

“I didn’t know being a princess was contagious!” Adora joined in the yelling.

Bow stepped in, his voice about three octaves higher than it had been. “Okay! Okay! Everyone _calm_ down! Wanna tell us how you did that?” he asked in a slightly calmer voice. 

Adora curled a little further into Catra’s arms as Catra hissed at the other two. “I didn’t do anything! All I did was say a few words that the vision told me and then - whoosh! - I’m in a tiara!”

“Visions again?” Catra asked. She’d thought that was a one-off, or that Adora had just hit her head the first time and imagined it. But if they were back...the sword really was magic. And it responded to Adora. 

The return of a now even more furious and bloodthirsty spider monster ended any possible conversation. The four teens all screamed. Bow picked up the sword and shoved it back into Adora’s arms. “Do it again! Do it again!”

Arms shaking a little bit, Adora raised the sword. “For the honor of Grayskull!”

Nothing happened. 

Adora looked down at her sword, confused. That’s what she’d said last time. “Time to run!” Catra decided for everyone, grabbed Adora’s hand, and took off. She made a beeline for Razz’ hut, the others right behind her, but they were cut off before they could reach it. Catra changed direction, heading towards a place they’d only been once before.

“A First One’s ruin!” Bow said excitedly when the crystal structure rose in front of them.

Catra frowned. “A what?”

“But how do we get inside, Bow?”

“Just say the password,” Adora panted, looking up at the writing.

The other three all stared at her. “You can _read_ that?”

“What? You can’t? It just says ‘Eternia’.” The crystal split, leaving a large opening and nearly sending all the teens into a heart attack.

Catra took the lead again. “Everyone inside, now!” she barked. The teens rushed inside and the doors slammed shut behind them right before the spider could crash into it. “What is this place?”

“You can read First One’s writing?” Bow asked Adora skeptically.

Adora grimaced. “I don’t even know what a ‘First One’ is,” she retorted. 

Glimmer rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Right. So you have a sword that sends out First One’s signals, can read First One’s writing, and got us into a First One’s ruin, and you’re saying you don’t know who they were?”

“That’s _exactly_ what I’m saying!”

Catra took Adora’s hand. “Okay, maybe you two could just - knock it off,” she ordered Bow and Glimmer. “You,” she pointed at Glimmer. “You’re a princess. Am I wrong?”

Glimmer puffed up a little. “Princess of Brightmoon, commander of the Princess Alliance.”

“ _If_ we had any other princesses besides Netossa and Spinnerella,” Bow muttered behind her. Glimmer glared at him. “Who are _great_!” he said more enthusiastically. 

“Just don’t come near us with your sparkle magic,” Adora growled. 

“What did I even _do_ to you?”

Catra stepped in again. “We’ve been hurt enough by your kind of magic. We want nothing to do with it.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Bow shook his head, confused. “Magic is good and light and can help people so much!”

Well if that wasn’t the stupidest thing either Catra or Adora had ever heard. “Sure. Tell that to Shadow Weaver,” Catra hissed.

“Who’s Shadow Weaver?”

“The Horde Commander who raised us.”

Both Bow and Glimmer froze for a moment before pointing accusing fingers at them. “You’re Horde soldiers!” Bow yelped.

Catra hissed again and swiped a clawed hand at them in warning. “And you’re with a _princess_. None of us are happy about this.”

“We haven’t been with the Horde for four years,” Adora added. “We ran away.”

“A likely story,” Glimmer sniffed. 

Adora lost her temper. “Where are your parents?! Do you know who they are? Because Catra and I don’t! We were _stolen_ and raised by the Horde to be soldiers for Hordak’s armies, to die on the front lines. We were told that it was _normal_ , and for the best of Etheria, but the magical torture really throws a damper on the whole ‘greater good’ ideal they spout. I’m missing _days_ of my life that I’ll never get back because _your_ kind of magic erased them from my mind! So no. We don’t trust princesses and we aren’t with the Horde.”

“You don’t fight for the Horde, but you don’t like the princesses. Just whose side are you on?” Glimmer shouted.

“ _Our_ side!” Adora snarled. “It’s me and Catra! It’s always been just us, and that’s the way we want it.”

“There _is_ no fighting the Horde,” Catra added. “You can’t win against them - they’ll just keep coming until they beat you down.”

“We don’t have any other choice,” Bow said, trying to be the voice of reason. “The Horde is destroying everything in its path, we can’t just leave the people behind to fend for themselves. Maybe we can’t win - but we can’t just give up either. I’m sorry that they hurt you, that they lied to you about princesses and magic and the Rebellion, but none of it was true. We’re trying to save everyone.”

That was a little too idealistic for Catra. Did being in the Rebellion automatically turn a person into an eternal optimist? “Good luck with that,” she muttered. “Adora and I just want to go home. We belong here.”

Adora stared down at the sword still in her hand. The tiniest sliver of guilt wormed at her, just as she was sure it was bothering Catra, but what good could they do in the war, even if they wanted to? Some unreliable magic sword in the hands of a teenager couldn’t turn the tides against trained soldiers. “We can’t do anything until we figure out how to get out of here, so can we just go?”

“Looks like the only way out is forward,” Catra decided. “You can keep bothering us on the way Sparkles.”

“It’s Glimmer!”

“Whatever.”

There was writing all along the walls - strange symbols that spelled out a story Adora wasn’t sure she understood. “So...who were the First One’s anyway?” she asked to break the awkward silence if nothing else.

“Oh, they were the first people to settle Etheria, but they disappeared like, a thousand years ago. They left all this technology behind though!” Bow replied. 

“Did the _Horde_ not tell you about them?” Glimmer snipped.

Both Adora and Catra rolled their eyes. “We ran away when we were - maybe ten. There’s a _lot_ they didn’t tell us,” Catra growled. “We’d barely started squad training. Hell, Kyle hadn’t even figured out how to lace his boots up right yet.”

“Was it - _nice_?” Bow asked, clearly still trying to stay at least a bit positive and upbeat.

Adora couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Sure. Between endless training - which could sometimes be fun, fine - squad wide discipline for mistakes, occasional attempts to run away, it was great!”

“Oh, and the memory erasing, magical lightning punishments, and being thrown in solitary for trying to protect your friends, can’t forget those!” Catra added cheerfully. “Also being punished for _having_ friends, that was a big one.”

“We got away, and that’s what matters,” Adora finished. “It took years, apparently, since I can’t remember it, but Catra can. How many times did we try Catra?”

Catra counted in her head. “Sixteen over three years. The first time we tried was right before squads were formed, so we would have been about six. Maybe. The Horde doesn’t keep great track of how old their child soldiers are.” She glanced over to see Bow and Glimmer looking appropriately horrified. 

“Maybe you don’t judge Horde soldiers now, huh? We’re all raised in it. It’s the only life almost all of us have known,” Adora said grimly. “The only reason we were any different is because we were loyal to each other beyond what we were allowed to be. They tried to take us away from each other, tried to make me forget Catra. She rescued me and we ran. The Whispering Woods protected us, gave us a home. It’s alive in a way that we can’t describe. The trees look out for us and we can’t just leave them. I hope the Rebellion can beat the Horde, I really do, but we don’t belong in an army again.”

Catra stepped into Adora’s side, wrapping her tail around her wrist and purring as she nudged her shoulder with her forehead. “They can’t make us do anything,” she reassured Adora. “No one can anymore.” Adora nodded and sighed, relaxing the slightest bit.

“Hey Adora, look.” Bow pointed at a carving of a figure holding up a sword. “It’s you.”

“What? That’s not what I look like.”

“No, the _bigger_ you. When you changed with the sword.”

Adora looked at the woman on the wall more closely. “That was - _me_?” There was no denying that at least the sword was the same. The person holding it had much longer hair than Adora, and the clothes weren’t hers, but - she couldn’t ignore the similarities. 

“Hey Adora?” Catra tapped her shoulder. “What’s that say under it?”

“...She-Ra.” 

The entire room lit up like a bonfire, forcing the teens to cover their eyes with various yelps. A figure flickered into existence - a woman. “Greetings administrator.”

She was the voice from the visions, Adora realized. “Uh…”

“What is your query?”

Adora looked over to Catra for help but she just shrugged, as confused as Adora. “Oh!” Bow said. “A hologram! Great - how do we get out of here?”

“What is your query?”

Catra pushed Adora forward. “She’s only going to listen to you. You’re the one that can turn into the lady with the cape thing.”

“What is your query?”

“Um, can you show us the way out?” Adora asked hesitantly.

“Administrator detected. I am Light Hope. Opening front entrance. Please return soon to begin your training, She-Ra.” 

Adora gave her an awkward wave. “Ab-so-lutely! Never,” she whispered the second word to herself. 

The four exhausted teens slowly trudged back out of the crystal structure, relieved to see the spider had given up the hunt while they were trapped in there and had gone off searching for new victims. All any of them wanted to do was sleep.

“Look,” Adora sighed. “Brightmoon is a few miles east of here. You can probably get home before morning if you don’t stop again or run into trouble. Sorry you came out here for nothing, but Catra and I...we can’t. We’re not soldiers anymore.” Catra took her hand and Adora squeezed it, accepting the comfort gratefully.

“This is our home,” Catra agreed.

* * *

The walk back to their tree hut took a while, and it was mostly done in silence. Adora kept bringing the sword up to her face to stare like it had all the answers, and Catra was occupied with making sure Adora didn’t fall behind or freak out on her. “Hey Adora?”

Adora immediately looked up at her friend, giving her a tiny smile. “Yeah?”

“You doing okay? That was a lot of weird for one night.”

That was one way of putting it. Adora sighed, holding the sword up again. “I don’t want magic, Catra,” she admitted. “I don’t want a magic weapon, I don’t want to _be_ magic. We were surviving, we were happy. Weren’t we?”

“Hey. Nothing has to change,” Catra murmured. They pulled themselves up into their home and Adora immediately collapsed in their pile of furs. Catra wasn’t far behind, stretching herself out on top of Adora and making her laugh when she rumbled a purr along her back. “It’s you and me, Adora. We’re gonna stick together, no matter what alright?”

“Promise?”

“Yeah. I promise.” 

Catra rolled off Adora so she wasn’t crushing her so badly. Adora grunted in annoyance at the loss of body heat and cuddled in under Catra’s chin to bury her nose in the fur on her chest. Things felt like they had been changing over the last few months, but neither of them were quite sure what those changes were, so they just did whatever they wanted - including sleep as close together as possible and generally always be touching whenever they were in the same place. It was enough to keep them happy, although Adora couldn’t help thinking that there was something past this level that they were both trying to reach. They just didn’t know what it was.

“We’ll be okay,” Catra told her, already half asleep. 

“We will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Knowing everything Adora ever did to try and protect her, and her openly acknowledging that Catra is the most important thing in the world to her, means that Catra is gentler in this fic. In opposition, knowing everything Shadow Weaver did to her to try and separate them, and learning early on just how badly they were mistreated, Adora has a harder edge and isn’t as trusting. They've balanced each other over the years and blended.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra makes a choice.

“Glimmer! Where - _were_ you, last night?”

Glimmer flinched at the sound of her mother’s angry voice. Oh, she was totally grounded for the rest of her life. “Around. Why...do you ask?”

“Stop lying to me young lady! You are the commander of the Rebellion and as such, I expect -”

“Bow and I went out to the Whispering Woods following a signal for First One’s tech and we found the Forest Children of the woods and there was this huge spider monster that chased us and one of the girls turned into this magical lady with a cape called She-Ra and we escaped into a First One’s ruin with a holographic lady in it and we asked them to join the Rebellion but they refused do you know who She-Ra is please say yes!” Glimmer spat out all in one breath with her eyes closed.

Angella halted her rebuke, stunned. “She-Ra? The legendary warrior? But - she’s been gone for a thousand years - since the First One’s abandoned Etheria. And you’re saying you found her in a teenaged feral child?”

Glimmer took a deep breath to calm herself. “Mom. They’re two girls, maybe the same age as me and Bow. They ran away from the Horde - they said they think they were ten but aren’t sure. They don’t even know how _old_ they are. And - they’re _scared_ Mom. Scared of the Horde, scared of us, scared of magic. I just - no one should have to live like that.” She rubbed her arm, ashamed of how impatient with Adora and Catra she’d been, after everything they’d told her about how the Horde hurt them. “We have to help them Mom, even if they can’t help us.”

“I will - see what we can do Glimmer,” Angella promised hesitantly. “But before all that, we have reports that the Horde is heading for Thaymor. I am sending you and Bow to ensure that they are held back.”

A high pitched squeal escaped before Glimmer could hold it down. She disappeared in a flash and reappeared hugging her mother around the neck. “I won’t let you down Mom!” She disappeared again.

Angella sighed. “Please be careful.”

* * *

“You ready, Adora?” Catra called up to the house where Adora had yet to emerge. Her friend had been off the past few days, which Catra understood, but Adora had a tendency to fixate if she thought she’d done something wrong. Catra wanted to draw her out of it before she sank too deep.

She could hear the sigh of frustration from all the way down on the ground. “You make the trip to Thaymor all the time on your own. Why do you need me today?” Adora’s head poked out of the doorway. 

“Because last week sucked? And I don’t - ugh this is so gross - I don’t want to be that far away from you right now, okay?” Catra growled, hands fisted as she glared up at Adora.

Embarrassment aside, her words brought a smile to Adora’s face at least. “Alright. Let’s go.” She swung out of the house and down to Catra’s side, pressing a kiss to her temple as she stood up.

Catra blushed. “Yeah, whatever dummy. It’s not because I like you or anything. Come on.”

* * *

Catra picked up the sounds of weaponry before Adora could. “Wait a minute,” she muttered, holding an arm out for Adora to stop. “Something’s not right.”

Gunfire. Tanks. Bots.

 _Screams_.

“The Horde’s attacking Thaymor!” 

They both took off at a sprint toward the village, to be met with the sight of villagers trying to flee from incoming Horde forces as tank fire exploded houses around the vicinity. It looked like five whole squads were present, not to mention at least a dozen bots. Way more than necessary for one small village. 

“What are you thinking?” Adora asked quickly, scanning for any of the Rebellion that might be fighting back. There was no evidence of it, but the Horde had just begun their assault. Maybe they were still coming.

“Can you make the lady in the cape come back?”

Adora glanced down at the sword. “I don’t think we can count on that.”

“Alright. Well if you can’t, work on getting the people out and into the forest. If you see a tank start firing on the others, that’s me. Always wanted to drive one of those things.” Catra leapt away, disappearing quickly into the smoke.

Adora set to helping villagers evacuate. “This way!” she shouted over the sound of fighting. “Into the trees, move it!” People slowly started to listen and calm down, running with purpose into the woods instead of frantically to nowhere.

“Adora!”

Her head shot up at the call of her name. But it wasn’t Catra. Bow ran through the smoke, waving his - bow - in the air. “Bow?”

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“No time,” Adora shook her head. “Catra’s trying to hijack a tank. Help me get people out of here?”

“On it!” Bow took over evacuation procedures, letting Adora run back into the village to see if there was anyone left that couldn’t get out. 

It seemed like almost everyone had already made it away, and the rest were on their way out. Adora swallowed hard, seeing the mark of the Horde plastered onto the homes. Out of nowhere, Glimmer was suddenly next to her. Adora yelped out a, “Geez, Glimmer!”

“Hey! Bow said you were here somewhere. We’ve gotta get out of here!”

“You grab Bow! I’m not going without Catra!” Looking unsure, Glimmer obeyed. “She’s… somewhere,” Adora muttered, scanning around. She hadn’t seen a hint from Catra since she took off in the first place. A tank rattled to a stop a dozen yards away, smoke pouring out the hatch. “Catra?”

A face she barely remembered came tumbling out of the vehicle. “What the heck?” they groaned. “Why is our own tank firing on us?”

“Lonnie?” Adora murmured, hardly daring to believe it. 

Lonnie’s eyes shot up, focusing on Adora. She squinted, trying to place the familiarity, before they widened in recognition. “Adora? You’re alive?”

Adora huffed, amused. “Yeah, I’ll bet that’s a shock.” She caught sight of the marker on Lonnie’s uniform. “Force Captain? Wow, Lonnie. Impressive.”

Lonnie glanced down at the badge. “Yeah. Well, you and Catra were always ahead of me, but with you gone, promotion’s all mine I guess.”

“Sure. Look, Lonnie - I’m sorry we left you and Rogelio and Kyle but - they hurt us. They were hurting Catra. I couldn’t stay.”

“Yeah, I know.” Lonnie waved her off. “Honestly I don’t blame you guys for getting out. Shadow Weaver sure did pick on you two. I’m just surprised you survived is all.”

“You could come with us,” Adora offered.

Lonnie chuckled. “Nah, the Horde’s my life, Adora. I’m moving up the ranks. Look - you get out of here. Just this once, ‘kay? For old times’ sake.” She powered down her baton and backed off into the dust clouds.

Adora sighed. “Yeah, Lonnie,” she murmured to herself. “See you ‘round.” She turned to go, but a stun baton to her side had Adora crumpling to the ground as she cried out in pain, sparks running through her nerves. 

A tall, helmeted Horde soldier was impassively standing over her, ready to hit her again. As he swung down, Adora barely caught it with the edge of her sword. But she wasn’t as strong as him, and the stun baton slowly began to inch down toward her. 

She couldn’t lose here. Catra was still out there, and she might need help. Adora closed her eyes and concentrated. Catra. Bow. Glimmer. They were all in danger. The people of Thaymor, who had always been kind to two wild and skittish children who tended to break in and steal things and then leave strange items as payment. “For the honor. Of. _Grayskull_!!”

Throwing the Horde soldier off of her now was infinitely easier. Barely a flick of the wrist and he was flying away from her. He didn’t get back up. A bot rounded a corner, and Adora threw her sword through its innards, instantly shutting it down. She sprinted over to grab her sword again and caught sight of Catra riding the top of a tank as she laughed wildly. A shot fired from her tank and incinerated another that was inching its way towards the Whispering Woods. But while Catra celebrated, her tank collided with a house, sending her flying through the air. 

If Adora had had time to think about it, she would have panicked, but as it was, she barely had the opportunity to stick out her arms before Catra was flying into them. Adora-sized her would have been bowled over, but She-Ra withstood it unfazed. The strength would take some getting used to, if she was going to be spending more time in this form. She could easily smash something.

Adora lost control of the warrior, flickering back to herself and just managing to get Catra to the ground without dropping her. She fell to one knee, trying to catch her breath. “Adora?!” Catra called worriedly, kneeling in front of her. “Adora, are you alright?”

Glimmer apparated beside them. “The Horde sounded the retreat. Time to go!” She grabbed their shoulders and teleported out.

* * *

Adora was _exhausted_. Turning into She-Ra, even for a few moments, made her more tired than she could ever remember being. She leaned heavily on Catra, trusting her to get them both away from the village. Glimmer had teleported back to Brightmoon to talk with her mother about arrangements for the Thaymor townspeople, but Bow was still with them. “Cat,” she murmured, “I don’t think I can go much further today.”

“Brightmoon’s closer than your house. You can rest there tonight, and we can figure everything else out in the morning,” Bow offered. “The palace has lots of rooms!”

The girls looked at each other, a silent discussion taking place before Catra nodded. “Alright Arrow Boy. Take us to your leader,” she joked halfheartedly. She hiked Adora a little further on her shoulders, taking some more of her weight, and followed Bow to his home.

Tomorrow, she’d have time to remark on how ridiculously _bright_ Brightmoon was, though Catra supposed she should have guessed by the name. White and pink and purple and of course the _sparkles_. No wonder Glimmer looked the way she did. 

“Hey, Adora. You think you can make it a little bit more?” she asked quietly.

Adora managed a barely there nod and yawned. “I’m not sure I like the crazy warrior lady in the cape,” she murmured. 

“Why?”

“She’s exhausting.”

Catra chuckled and helped Adora keep walking. “Well I’ve been promised a bedroom and I expect Arrows to deliver.”

“I have a name you know.”

“I know!” Catra responded cheerfully. “But if you’re going to be dumb enough to have a name that literally is just the weapon you use, you get an equally dumb nickname. It’s your own fault.”

“My - my dads named me that,” Bow muttered.

“Ha _ha_ ,” Adora mumbled. “Bow uses a bow, I get it.” She snorted. “That’s funny.”

Catra frowned, both amused and concerned. Adora only got weird like that when she was past the point of exhaustion or really sick. It was hilarious, but also meant Adora would probably spend the next couple of days in bed, barely able to wake up enough to eat. The first time it happened while they were living in the woods Catra had had a panic attack because Adora wouldn’t wake up. It had only occurred a couple times since, but it was unnerving every time. No matter how ridiculous Adora acted right before.

“We’ve gotta get her to a bed soon, Bow. She’s about to collapse,” Catra warned the boy. 

“On it!” Bow said with all his determined optimism.

That was going to take getting used to, especially if Adora wanted what Catra was pretty sure she did. Brightmoon was probably about to become their home for the foreseeable future. Adora always did take on too much responsibility, and Catra was the strategist between the two of them. The Rebellion had sent two teenagers, one of them the heir to the throne, in response to a full Horde attack. Catra hadn’t been in training in four years, but even she remembered that that kind of planning was doomed from the start. The Rebellion needed all the help it could get.

Bow managed to slip them past the guards of Brightmoon without too much fuss and found them a spare room. “Okay. You guys get some rest, I’ll find some food, and Glimmer and I will come get you in the morning! This is going to be great!”

“I -” Even the door closed enthusiastically. Catra rolled her eyes. “I haven’t even told you we’re staying yet,” she muttered to the empty room. “Okay, Adora. Help me out one more time.” She hauled her friend over to the bed, only for Adora to practically disappear the second any of her weight pressed into the mattress. All of Catra’s fur poofed out in alarm. “What the -?”

Adora’s giggles filled the room, even muffled by the feathery nightmare these princesses called a _bed_. Catra grabbed the barely visible hand and yanked Adora back out. “I think I drowned.” Adora sounded very pleased with that fact.

“We are sleeping on the floor tonight you dummy,” Catra growled. She pilfered what blankets she could reach without having to get on that fluffy disaster, and made a nest for her and Adora on the floor. She shoved her friend in without preamble and curled in next to her. “Sleep time, Adora.” Snores were her only answer. Catra shook her head affectionately and pressed a quick kiss to Adora’s cheek. “Weirdo.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids officially join the Rebellion.

Adora jerked awake with a start in unfamiliar surroundings. She was just about to start panicking when she heard Catra’s distinct rumbling and looked down to see her curled up fast asleep. The sight allowed her to take a deep breath and calm herself down. She wasn’t a prisoner, not if Catra was still with her. She was okay.

That still didn’t explain where they were though.

Normally she wouldn’t want to wake Catra from a sound sleep, but this situation warranted it. Adora nudged her shoulder gently. “Catra?” she murmured. 

“Mmm? ‘dora?”

“Hey.” Adora smiled at Catra’s sleepy blinking. All these years later, and she still never took for granted every morning she woke up next to Catra. It seemed like such a miracle that they were still alive after everything. “Good morning. Where are we?”

Catra rose to all fours and stretched with a dramatic groan, her clawed feet extending far behind her and her back arching. “Brightmoon,” she said after she was done, following it up with a yawn. “You went silly with exhaustion and it was closer.”

Adora took that news in stride. “And we’re on the floor why?”

“A bed tried to eat you.”

“What are those magic too?!” Adora’s eyes shot to the pink bed with a distrusting look. 

Catra chuckled. “No dummy, just fluffy. You conked out like an idiot last night though. You can’t overextend yourself like that. It freaks me out.”

Trust Catra to insult her while she worried. If she didn’t, Adora would probably think someone had taken her place. “So what do we do now?” she wisely changed the subject before Catra could get after her more. 

“Well, I guess that depends on what you want Adora.”

“What I want? Both of us have a say,” Adora said firmly.

Catra gave her an appreciative smile and nuzzled in close to Adora’s chest. “I know. I’ve decided, but really I’m good with whatever you want. You know Arrows and Sparkles are going to ask you to stay again. You’re the one with the magic warrior lady sword thing - we need to come up with a better name for that. Anyway. You’re the one they’re going to want, Adora. I’m just along for the ride.”

“No you’re not,” Adora said stiffly. “We’re _partners_ , teammates, Catra. I’m not doing anything without you. If you want to go back home to the Woods and stay there for the rest of our lives, I do too. We don’t leave each other behind, remember?”

The purring Catra emitted let Adora know how Catra valued her words. “If I wasn’t here, what would you want to do?”

“But you are here.”

“Adora. If it was just you, and Glimmer and Bow asked you to stay, what would you want?” Catra asked seriously.

It wasn’t an easy question to answer. Part of Adora was still terrified of magic, even years removed from Shadow Weaver. Was scared that all power was the same - even the power she seemed to carry inside of herself. But Thaymor….the village had treated them well - or as well as two feral kids would let them. They didn’t deserve what happened yesterday. “All those people...” she murmured. “The Horde isn’t going to stop. Even if we hide. They’ll find a way around or through the forest, and even if they don’t - if they destroy the rest of the world, how could we live with ourselves? Knowing I could have done something.”

“There’s something to be said for realizing we’re two former child soldier now runaway teenagers who - magic or not - probably don’t stand a chance against an army bent on world domination,” Catra drawled. “But I knew you were going to say that and I - I want to stay too,” she admitted somewhat reluctantly. “Not just to stick it to the Horde. But - maybe we can make a difference with the Rebellion. Maybe it isn’t hopeless.”

“Ah, look at you. Some of Bow’s optimism is rubbing off on you already,” Adora couldn’t help but tease. “Next thing you know you’ll be a princess just like Glimmer.”

“ _What?! No!_ ” Catra shrieked. “You take that back, Adora!” She lunged, knocking Adora flat on her back and hands quickly finding her ticklish spots. Adora squealed with laughter, unable to escape.

Neither of them noticed the bedroom door creaking open, or the tray of food Bow carried in. “Um, I can come back?” he offered hesitantly. Both girls froze, Adora crouched over Catra and holding both of her wrists while Catra was shoving against her with one foot against her stomach. Bow held up the tray nervously. “I brought breakfast?”

The girls both scrambled to their feet and looked at the food with interest. “What’s this?” Adora asked, pointing at something red and oddly shaped.

“Yeah and what are those?” Catra picked up some kind of soft, round, flat food that had liquid poured on top.

“Oh moons, why are your lives so _sad?_ ” Bow sounded far more dramatic than necessary. “Alright. We have some work to do. Operation: Teach Horde Kids How to Person is go!”

Catra frowned. “Operation what now?”

“Shh! Okay. Adora! What you have is a strawberry. Catra, you have pancakes.”

Adora looked at the red thing. “We’ve had berries in the forest. Madam Razz showed us.” These ‘strawberries’ didn’t look like those berries, but they still tasted pretty good.

Meanwhile, Catra was about to get in a fight with her pancakes. They were _sticky_ and it was getting in her fur. They were really soft though. And sweet. Mess notwithstanding, Catra decided she liked them. “Here Adora try this,” she mumbled. “‘S good.”

Bow just kind of watched the two girls experience the new foods together. It was cute and also kind of depressing to see how they each carefully ensured that the other received an equal amount of every food. They had obviously been looking after each other for a long time. Their whole lives, if what they’d said the week before was true, and Bow got the feeling it was. “So...how was your night? Are you staying? The Best Friend Squad has room for two more members!”

“The what now?” Catra asked again. “I thought it was the Princess Alliance.”

Bow brightened. “Oh! The Best Friend Squad is just me and Glimmer ‘cause you know - we’re best friends. But there’s always space for more!”

Adora started giggling so it was up to Catra to answer. “Whatever, nerd. Yeah we’re staying. Your strategies I’ve seen so far have been pretty pathetic. Looks like you can use all the help you can get.”

A sudden spray of sparkles caused both Adora and Catra to yelp and leap back to their nest, only relaxing marginally when they saw it was just Glimmer teleporting in. “That is going to take getting used to,” Adora muttered. 

“Hi!”

* * *

Meeting Glimmer’s mom was...interesting. Adora and Catra didn’t really know what to do when around a mother. She was simultaneously tough on Glimmer while also affectionate and worried, and Adora wasn’t sure which was harder to understand. There was a lot of yelling, but then they hugged? Yelling in the Horde was just the normal talking sound level, and it never lead to anything good. Catra yelling meant excitement or anger. Adora yelled when she got scared. None of those really matched up with whatever Angella was feeling. 

The queen told them what she knew of She-Ra, but it didn’t really go beyond what Adora and Catra had already been able to puzzle out. Strong, magical, warrior woman from back in the times that the First One’s walked Etheria. Hadn’t been seen in a thousand years. Other abilities rumored but those were incomplete.

Angella offered them a permanent place to live in the castle, which both girls accepted, still hesitant even though they agreed it was the right decision. The agreement was stipulated by their request that they be able to return to the woods and take care of some things.

“Of course, girls,” Angella allowed immediately, a kind but sad look on her face. “You are not under orders. I understand you were partially raised in the Horde before running away, so perhaps you think all armies are run identically - that ours is a world of strict order. You are allowed to roam and do as you please unless on a mission, and even then, your commander is my daughter so restrictions are - lax to say the least.” She rolled her eyes affectionately. “But I do not want you two running yourselves ragged. You are all still children. Perhaps I will have something small for the four of you to test your teamwork on in the near future - I am still waiting for reports. Until then, your time is your own.”

Adora and Catra looked at each other quizzically. That was - vastly different from the Horde, but they weren’t going to question it and maybe change her mind. “Thank you ma’am - Majest - Queen - uh,” Adora fumbled awkwardly. She shook her head as Catra muffled laughter behind her hand. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Where are you guys going?” Bow asked as they left the war room. 

“We have to grab some things from our treehouse and let the Woods and Madam Razz know we aren’t going to be around,” Adora answered, heading out of the castle and towards the nearby tree line.

“Who’s Madam Razz?”

Catra clawed her way up the first tree they reached and began leaping from branch to branch. “This old, old lady who lives on her own and is completely _nuts_ ,” she called back to the other three still on the ground. “Like - totally crazy.”

“She may be crazy, but I think she knows more than we think,” Adora countered. “Plus she helped us when we first got here. We didn’t even know what food was besides ration bars - remember that Cat?”

“Oh, yeah,” Catra scoffed. She suddenly swung from a branch by her knees, startling Glimmer into teleporting away when she appeared upside down in front of her face. “Do you have those in the Rebellion? The gray ones were okay but the brown ones were _terrible_. Even Adora, the goody goody soldier before we deserted, could barely stand to swallow them.”

Adora huffed. “I was _not_ a goody goody,” she retorted, pushing Catra and making her yelp as she lost balance for a moment. “But the brown ones _were_ pretty bad,” she admitted.

“Well there’s no such thing as ration bars here,” Bow reassured them.

“Good. Adora, you want to go talk to Razz and I’ll take the nerd squad to our place for our stuff? You were always better at understanding her than me.”

“Sure.” Adora waved the other three off and ducked into the clearing that held Razz’ house. “Madam Razz? Razz?” she called. 

The old woman shuffled out of her house, humming and sweeping the dirt uselessly with her ever handy broom. “Mara dearie!”

“Still just Adora, Razz,” she sighed. “I wanted to tell you: Catra and I aren’t going to be around much in the future. We’re moving to Brightmoon to fight the Horde. But we’ll still come check on you when we can!” She didn’t like the idea of Razz being completely on her own, even though she’d probably been doing just fine before she and Catra came along.

“Yes yes, Adora is getting closer Mara! Almost time almost time. Not quite! Bye Mara dear, come back for pie!” 

Adora dodged a swinging broom handle on her way out of the clearing, Razz already having forgotten she was there. Well, she’d drop by soon to check on her. Maybe not as often as the once a week she did before, but she’d try. Adora had a feeling Razz knew something about the First Ones - maybe she even had stories about She-Ra. And she’d still never figured out who this ‘Mara’ was.

* * *

True to her word, Angella sent them on their first mission as a foursome - to go deliver supplies to the kingdom of Plumeria and its princess Perfuma as the Horde pressed closer with their armies. Glimmer saw it as a chance to renew recruitment to the Princess Alliance. 

Adora had been practicing with She-Ra, and had so far learned that she could carry around Catra on her shoulders or with one hand with no effort at all, much to her friend’s combined delight and embarrassment. It meant she got to lounge around and be in constant contact with Adora, which made her feel safe, but she immediately hissed and ran away if they ever gained an audience. Adora had also found out that She-Ra had a much vaster instinctive knowledge of swordplay than Adora, as evidenced against numerous Rebellion soldiers. She had increased her ability to stay transformed from a few minutes that laid her out for the rest of the day to an hour that only required she take a fifteen minute break. 

If Catra wasn’t sparring with Adora in her normal form, she was with Glimmer in the war room making plans and counter plans or telling her everything she and Adora could remember about the Horde. All the rest of her time was spent exploring the castle with Adora, finding all the high out of reach spots where they both felt safest. The afternoon they found a balcony that had easy climbing access to the roof was the most relaxed day they’d had since leaving the forest. They accidentally fell asleep up there and it took Glimmer and Bow hours to find them.

But now they were in Plumeria, and Catra was having difficulty not pulling her hair out. These people were just so - _passive_. And annoying. And they kept trying to braid flowers into her hair and weren’t deterred by any amount of hissing. 

Adora wasn’t having the easiest time either. She was always surrounded by a crowd of people, and no matter how much she begged Catra with her eyes to help, she couldn’t get away. The entire day was spent with some kind of lassitude. None of the plant people seemed to care about the Horde, or the fact that their land was actively _dying_ , and Adora didn’t understand. How could they not want to save their own home? The princess didn’t even think protecting themselves was the right decision, let alone fighting offensively. No wonder the first Alliance had fallen apart, if everyone in the Rebellion gave up so easily. Instead, they just focused on She-Ra and thought she could magically heal whatever was killing their home and plant life. 

The healing was news to her - could she even do that? Angella hadn’t said anything about it in the _very_ little she actually knew about She-Ra. So far, all Adora had managed was staying transformed into the warrior for a few hours without collapsing in exhaustion, which was at least some progress. 

Adora would never let her anger or frustration rule her, but Catra had about had it. “She’s been able to turn into the magical warrior princess for like, a week, so just shut up and give her a _minute,_ ” she snapped. “We don’t even know if she _has_ magic healing powers or whatever, no matter what your stories say! Do you princesses really expect us to have all the answers?” A hand grasped her shoulder and she looked back to see Adora. 

“It’s okay,” she reassured Catra. Her words to the citizens of Plumeria were much quieter than Catra’s, but still firm. “I want to try. I don’t know if I can do it, but I’ll try.”

“Don’t you have magic plant powers?” Catra couldn’t help but ask. “Why couldn’t _you_ fix it?”

The plant princess at least had the decency to look a little ashamed. “There isn’t anything wrong with the tree,” Perfuma said mournfully. “The roots are strong, the heartwood is healthy. Something foreign is suppressing it - killing it. You - we thought that She-Ra might be able to do something.”

Catra dragged Adora away to a somewhat private corner. “What are you thinking?” she asked, squeezing Adora’s hand.

Adora was deep in thought. “If it’s magic, that really only has one option when talking about the Horde,” she said reluctantly.

Catra’s free hand clenched. “Shadow Weaver,” she hissed venomously. “So she hasn’t done us a favor and crawled away to die yet.”

“And she’s trying to demoralize the kingdoms.”

“Do you _think_ you can do the healing thing?”

Adora shrugged, waving her hands wildly. “I don’t even know how to change back on purpose yet!” she whisper-yelled. “If I can do magic things with the sword, I’m just as likely to blow something up as I am to heal right now.”

Luckily - and wasn’t that just ironic - the Horde showing up distracted everyone. Adora got her first real fighting experience as She-Ra, and Catra almost got herself flattened when she couldn’t take her eyes off her friend. The people of Plumeria even helped run the invaders off, with plants of course.

After, Catra moved close to Adora. “I think,” she murmured, “that those stories are probably all made up.”

“Thanks for the confidence boost Cat,” Adora muttered. She was glaring at the tree. “I’m obviously not the perfect hero everyone all of a sudden wants me to be.”

“Hey,” Catra snapped but softened immediately. “If you were perfect, you’d be _unbearable_.”

Bow threw his arms around both their shoulders. “Yeah! We don’t want a perfect She-Ra! Adora’s pretty great too!”

“I only want Adora around,” Catra murmured just for Adora to hear. 

Glimmer teleported in. “And beating the Horde back was enough to put Plumeria right again. Mission one of the Princess Alliance: success! Oh, I have to go ask Perfuma to join the Alliance!” She disappeared.

“Best Friend Squad hype!” Bow cheered.

“Yeah we’re not calling it that,” Adora and Catra said at the same time.

“We’re totally the Best Friend Squad,” Bow said contentedly.

* * *

“Why is there a waterfall in this room?” Catra wondered, circling it warily. 

“Is it for showering?” Adora agreed. 

Glimmer stared at both of them. “What? No - it’s just for decoration guys don’t read too much into it.”

“Huh. And Catra said this bed tried to eat me.” Adora kicked the bed in question and put a hole in it, sending feathers _everywhere_. An explosion of feathers all around the room. Catra about died laughing at the look on Adora’s face and the fact that she’d drawn She-Ra’s sword.

Glimmer scraped clinging feathers away from her face. “Well. I guess it’s a good thing Bow and I were getting you two a new bed. You guys _did_ just want one right? Or did you want to try two?”

“Oh I think we’re good,” Adora said hastily, shooting a look at Catra.

Catra nodded along. “Yeah we’re used to it. Been sharing since we were practically babies. Except for those last six months when they kept trying to force me into the top bunk and away from yours.” She made a face and scratched at some of the feathers lying around the floor. “I had nightmares all the time when I wasn’t next to Adora.”

“Me too.”

They didn’t seem like they really wanted to elaborate, so Glimmer let it lie. “Alright then. Bow should be up soon with the new bed. I think you’ll like it better.”

* * *

“Wait. We have to go - on the _water_??” Catra squeaked, her tail and the rest of her fur poofed out in alarm.

“We need Princess Mermista in the Alliance,” Glimmer declared, looking pumped.

“Salineas is only accessible by sea,” Bow explained. “We hire a captain with a boat who knows the area, and we’ll be there in three days, tops!”

That just made Catra’s eyes go wider. “Three. _Days_?”

“You can...stay?” Adora offered hesitantly. She _really_ didn’t want to go without Catra - just the thought made her anxious and she bit her lip. But she wouldn’t force Catra to go. This is why they’d run away from the Horde - for the right to make their own decisions.

Catra’s eyes snapped to Adora’s immediately. “I’m going,” she said. “Just - don’t expect me to be any help if something happens. I hate the water.”

Adora pulled her out of the chair she’d been sitting in to hold Catra in her lap. Used to being manhandled, Catra just let it happen. “Thank you,” Adora whispered in her ear. She let her head drop to Catra’s shoulder, willing the anxiety to go down. They were going to be together, so everything would be alright. 

“I’m not letting you leave me behind dummy,” Catra retorted. “It’s just some water. I’ll get over it.”

“Well that’s young love if I’ve ever seen it,” Netossa chuckled. “It’ll be nice not to be the only ones at the table, huh Spinny?”

Spinnerella smiled gently. “Indeed, Darling. But don’t embarrass them too much - they’re only children.”

“Huh?” Catra asked, ears pricked. 

“What’s that?” Adora followed up. 

Bow and Glimmer’s eyes went wide. “Oh, boy,” Bow choked. “Um, Netossa, Spinnerella? D’you maybe want to take this segment of Operation: Teach Horde Kids How to Person?”

“Operation what now?” Netossa frowned.

“That’s what _I_ said!” Catra sighed.

“Uh, okay. Adora, Catra,” Bow started hesitantly, “do you guys know what the word ‘love’ means?”

Catra and Adora looked at each other, then shrugged in unison. “Should we?”

Glimmer grabbed Bow’s arm. “You know what? Netossa, Spinnerella, you _totally_ have this handled. Let us know how it goes!” The pair disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

Netossa groaned. “Teenagers,” she muttered. “World’s always ending with them.”

“Did we do something wrong?” Adora asked.

Spinnerella tapped Netossa on the arm, silently telling her to calm down and stop scaring the teens. “No, honey,” she soothed. “Neither of you did. We didn’t mean to confuse you, did we my darling?”

“Nah kid,” Netossa agreed. “Look. You guys are friends right? You know that word?”

“Catra’s my best friend,” Adora said firmly. “We look out for each other. We’ve always been together.”

“Does this ‘love’ thing mean we can’t?” Catra jumped in. “Because that’s stupid and I don’t want it.”

Netossa chuckled. “No. Spinny and I love each other. We’re married - oh no.”

Spinnerella sighed at her wife making everything ten times more complicated as both the teenagers’ heads cocked to the side. “One new vocabulary word at a time,” she decided. “Girls, you can like your friends, you can love your friends. It’s just a word stronger than ‘like’. There’s family that you love too, though I’m guessing the Horde didn’t have a lot of those, did they?”

“We don’t know who our families were,” Adora said. “We came to the Horde as babies.”

“Lonnie said once she remembers her moms, but _I_ think she was making it up,” Catra added.

Netossa’s hands fisted over the arms of the chair. “We _really_ need to get rid of the Horde,” she growled. “Like Spinny said, friends you’re really close to, you might love them. And then sometimes, there might be a person or people you love _more_ than that. Like - they’re your weakness. They become the most important person in the world to you and you’d do anything for them. If you love someone that much, you might marry them, which is like a promise with a ceremony that no matter what bad times may come, you’ll stick together through it all. And usually you exchange items that are important to you, that you’ve had a long time, because you plan on sticking by that person forever. See,” Netossa pointed at her neck where a circle of pink clashed with the rest of her clothes, “I have Spinny’s necklace and she wears mine. Make sense?”

Catra seemed to catch on to what Adora was about to ask the moment she opened her mouth. “No you dolt, we’re not married,” she said, elbowing Adora gently in the side before immediately nuzzling in under her chin to reassure her that she wasn’t actually frustrated. “They said a ceremony. We promised, but I think it’s something adults do, right?”

“Right, Honey,” Spinnerella confirmed. “Adults get married. You two took care of each other in the Horde, didn’t you?”

“It’s always been just us,” Adora said. “We saved each other.”

“You guys still have a lot to learn about things outside of the Horde, not just love,” Netossa told them. “And that’s _fine_. We’ll tell Bow and Glimmer not to pry about all this while you figure things out. Or you don’t. You two are clearly close and trust each other, and there’s a lot going on right now. Nothing has to change between you two before you’re ready. Take your time.”

Spinnerella put a hand on each of their shoulders before she and Netossa left. “If either of you have any more questions about _anything_ , you can come to one of us,” she offered. “Bow and Glimmer are your friends and grew up in this world, but they’re still young. They don’t have all the answers.”

“Thank you,” Adora said quietly, still thinking over everything the women had said. She was leaning into Catra’s back, chewing her lip. “Well, I guess some things make a bit more sense,” she said once Netossa and Spinnerella were gone. 

“Yeah. I was wondering why Bow and Glimmer never held hands when Netossa and Spinnerella did,” Catra agreed. 

“But _we_ hold hands, Cat.”

“I know.” Catra’s ears drooped until Adora noticed and started rubbing gently at their base, perking them up again happily. “I think it’s complicated. And we’re weird probably, ‘cause of the Horde and all. I think we’re all kinds of mixed up about everything.”

Adora considered that, and thought Catra was probably right. “So we don’t have to do anything different. Spinnerella said we didn’t do anything wrong, so maybe we can just keep doing things the way we always have.”

“Yeah I like that.” They were both a little quiet, a little awkward for a moment until Catra snorted. “D’you think Shadow Weaver was ever _married_?”

“Ewwww!!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nightmare comes back.

Catra _hated_ Seahawk. With all of her soul. He was loud, and brash, and a coward, and probably a liar. But he had a ship, and given that Adora was currently stomping him at arm wrestling - when did her bicep get that defined? - they were probably going to be hiring him to take them to Salineas.

Somebody kill her now. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with both the water and _him_.

* * *

“You were going to fight that thing?”

“Well, yeah - until your tall friend there sTOLE MY _THUNDER_!”

“Go Adora…” Catra muttered weakly, trying to keep her breakfast down.

* * *

Oh. And now Seahawk was _singing_. “This day can’t get any worse,” Catra moaned. Even Bow was singing along. At least Adora looked as miserable about it as she did. Catra shoved herself under Adora’s arm and nuzzled angrily into her side. “I’m not apologizing if I barf on you,” she muttered. “It’s your fault we’re on this stupid ship with him.”

“I know,” Adora said apologetically, holding her close. “It was the fastest way to get across the water and keep you in a boat as little as possible.”

Okay, that made Catra just a little bit grateful. “Next time bring me ear plugs.” Adora’s hand automatically reached up to scratch around her ears, and Catra couldn’t help the purr she let out. “Or - just keep doing that. That’s good.”

* * *

“Ad- _VENTURE_!”

A clawed hand grabbed Seahawk by his scarf and threw him from the railing to the deck of his boat. “I will personally eviscerate you with my claws if you don’t shut up,” Catra growled before leaning back over the side of the boat, nauseated again.

* * *

“How beautiful you’ve become - more so every day my dear Mermista.”

“ _Uuuuugggghhhhhh_ ,” Mermista let out a long dramatic groan and dropped Seahawk to the floor. “Did you have to bring _him_ here?”

“Oh I like her,” Catra decided. She walked up to the princess and stuck out her hand. “Name’s Catra, and I hate your boyfriend as much as you do.”

Mermista glared at her for a moment. “He’s _not_ my boyfriend. But you can stay, whatever.”

* * *

“I feel like I should warn you,” everyone on the platform in front of the gate heard the strange lady with pincers say, “I’m a hugger!” She wrapped Bow up in a tight embrace that looked mildly uncomfortable for the boy. “Also, gosh you really shouldn’t be on this ship.” She tossed him over the edge right in the direction of a ship turbine.

Bow’s screaming was interrupted when he was saved at the last moment by a swinging Seahawk. “So he _is_ useful for something,” Catra muttered, kicking the Horde soldier that was attempting to climb to the top of the floating platform off and all the way down to the ocean. They couldn’t afford for Adora to be distracted by any of the fighting. It looked like remaking the sea gate was taking all of her strength. 

Catra groaned. Adora was probably going to collapse again after this, and then she’d be stuck on a boat without her to at least make the water somewhat bearable. Well, she could have some kind of fun until then. She crawled up to the top where Adora was, sneaking behind silently on all fours - waiting, calculating, judging, _l_ _eaping..._

“Catra! Do you really have to be right there?” Adora half glared up at the cat perched, crouching, on the flat of her blade. She-Ra truly was amazingly strong. Adora couldn’t even feel Catra’s weight.

“What? I’m not doing anything,” Catra teased, pressing a finger to Adora’s head and forcing it to tilt back.

Adora crinkled her nose. “Off,” she ordered good naturedly. Catra obeyed with a grumble, sitting on the edge of the platform and watching the Horde ship sail away.

“Did you see that weird scorpion looking lady? I heard her talking, she seemed a little nice to be from the Horde,” Catra said idly while waiting for Adora to finish sealing up the gate, keeping them both entertained. “Like, weirdly nice. As nice as Bow nice. Even if she did throw Bow toward that turbine.”

“She must be unnatural,” Adora teased.

Catra shuddered. “You’re telling me. Can’t believe you’ve got me hanging out with those freaks.”

“You wanted to stay too. Don’t act like it was all my idea,” Adora chuckled.

“Yeah yeah. Whatever, Princess.”

“You take that back!”

* * *

A few weeks after the thwarted assault on Salineas, Adora and Catra were finally adjusting to life in Brightmoon. There was less escaping to the roof or the forest, Adora hadn’t felt panicked in a week, Catra and Glimmer hadn’t snapped at each other in three days, and Bow didn’t feel the need to mediate an argument in the war room once. All in all, not bad for two pairs of wildly different teenagers. 

There was the whole Adora getting infected by some First One’s tech virus thanks to some weird princess’ experiments, but Catra had managed to wrangle her out of that one and the ensuing loopiness hadn’t been dissimilar to when she was over-tired, so all in all, she’d been easy for Catra to deal with. They’d let her sleep it off in one of the Dryl castle’s beds, Catra keeping an eye on her before heading home with a new member added to the Princess Alliance. 

Right now though, Adora could feel some of that panic creeping back. She hadn’t been able to shake the feeling for a few days that something was _watching_ her. Everywhere she went, no matter who she was with, there was always the tickling on the back of her head of eyes on her, and it was slowly driving her insane. Glimmer said she was tired, Bow said it could be leftover feelings from the First One’s infection, but neither seemed too concerned. Catra believed her, but there wasn’t much they could do about it, since no one was ever there when they searched.

Catra had found what she was pretty sure were all the secret passages in the castle, but even looking in there yielded no spies. And still the feeling didn’t recede. Even in their room at night, Adora couldn’t help but think that she sometimes saw red eyes in the dark - but turning on the lights always showed nothing there.

Waking up from a nightmare for the second time that night, Adora pounded at her temple until Catra grabbed her wrist and held it to her side. “Hey. Giving yourself actual brain damage isn’t going to help anyone,” she reprimanded Adora gently. “Are you calm?”

“...yeah,” Adora said after a hesitation.

“Alright. I’m going to go talk to Glimmer about maybe setting some stuff up. You go back to sleep I won’t be long.”

“I can wait up.” Adora’s protest was ruined by a wide yawn.

Catra chuckled, pushing Adora back down to the bed with one hand. “Uh huh sure. Just sleep Adora.”

Adora wanted to wait for Catra anyway, but her eyes disagreed and she was asleep before the door even closed.

* * *

Adora woke to an empty bed the next morning. Had Catra ever come back to the room? She couldn’t remember waking up to Catra crawling under the sheet again. “Catra?”

She wasn’t in their room. 

Confused, Adora wandered over to Glimmer’s bedroom, tugging on her boots as she went. “Hey Glimmer?” she called, knocking on the door.

It took a few seconds before it opened, revealing a yawning and sleepy-eyed Glimmer. “What’s going on Adora? It’s early.”

“Did Catra say where she was going after she talked to you last night?”

Glimmer’s eyes popped open fully. “Catra? What are you talking about - she didn’t come to my room last night.”

“Yes, she did,” Adora insisted. “She said she was going to ask you about setting something up because I _still_ feel like something is _spying_ on me. She never came back to our room afterward.”

“Adora. Catra never came to my room,” Glimmer repeated. 

Adora frowned. That didn’t make any sense. Catra wouldn’t lie about where she was going, especially if there was no reason to. She _knew_ Adora was anxious about how she’d been feeling all week, so she wouldn’t be playing a prank on her either. “Then where is she?”

“Right here Adora.”

For a second, Adora didn’t recognize the voice, but then she grinned when she turned around and saw her best friend. The rising panic died back down again. “Hey! What were you up to all night?”

“No time to explain,” Catra said abruptly. “Come on, I need to show you something.” She grabbed Adora’s hand and practically dragged her down the hall. 

“Okay, okay, Catra geez, slow down.” Adora looked over her shoulder and waved with her free hand. “Guess I’ll see you later Glimmer!” The princess just rolled her eyes and shut the door and went back to bed. It was too early to deal with those weirdos.

Adora let herself be tugged along until they were off castle grounds before she started to wonder what exactly Catra was doing. “Hey Cat, what’s going on? You’re in a big rush - did you find something out about why I’m feeling weird?”

“We’re going home. I’ll explain when we get there.”

That wasn’t right. Catra wouldn’t just leave the Rebellion behind after everything they’d already been through with them, and she certainly wouldn’t be forcing Adora to leave without even _asking_ if she wanted to. “Catra, where are we really going?”

“Home, Adora, I _told_ you,” Catra snapped. “It’s the only place to keep you safe if you would just shut _up_ for two seconds and listen to me. Don’t make me repeat myself again!”

Adora flinched, the fear that had been steadily burning at embers for a week growing to an inferno in a second. Catra _never_ yelled at her like that. They didn’t get mad at each other - they teased, they called each other stupid names, they play fought, but they did not yell when they were mad. They had learned years ago, before their first winter in the Whispering Woods, that arguing and being angry would only get them killed. If they were going to survive, they had to communicate. “Who are you?” Adora asked harshly, ripping her wrist from ‘Catra’s’ hold. “You aren’t her.”

“What are you talking about?” ‘Catra’ rolled her eyes. 

“You. Are not. _Catra_. Stop pretending! Who are you?!” What if whoever this was had hurt Catra? Was she okay? When had she been replaced - how long had Adora been with a fake? That panic was rising. “Get away from me!”

“ _Very_ astute, my dear Adora.” The voice coming from ‘Catra’s’ mouth was one that still haunted most of Adora’s nightmares. A voice she hadn’t heard in nearly five years.

Adora swallowed down her panic. She couldn’t freak out until she knew what had happened to Catra. “Shadow Weaver,” she growled, fists clenched.

“Indeed. I always knew you were a smart child.” Shadow Weaver’s spy transformed from Catra’s image to a creeping shadow.

Drawing She-Ra’s sword at least made Adora feel a tiny bit more in control. “Give her back to me!” she yelled. She couldn’t lose Catra. Catra was - she was, she just _couldn’t_. They promised that they would always be together. And now Catra was alone, and maybe hurt, and probably scared, and Adora couldn’t exist without her.

“If you want that mangy animal alive, come back home Adora. It’s where you belong after all.”

Tears leaked out before Adora could hold them back and her breathing was getting out of control. “I don’t belong to you!” she sobbed, the sword dropping from her shaking hand. “ _Please_ , just don’t hurt her. I’ll do what you want - please give her back,” she begged.

“Then come home, Adora.” The shadow dissipated, and Adora collapsed to the ground. 

Catra was gone.

Catra was _gone_.

Shadow Weaver had _stolen_ her, she was back in the Fright Zone, with the Horde, and if Adora didn’t go there, Shadow Weaver was going to _kill_ her. Adora curled into a ball, burying her face in her knees and rocking back and forth. She couldn’t breathe right, and Catra wasn’t there to talk her down this time. What did Catra always tell her? Find something she could see and focus on. Adora found a bird fluttering between trees and watched it, listening to its song until her breathing evened out just a little bit.

“Catra,” she whimpered, wiping her eyes. Adora looked up at the tree tops. “Will you show me the quickest way back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the shortest chapter of the fic, but I needed it to end here. More next week!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return to the Fright Zone

With the help of the Whispering Woods, it was the work of hours to get to the border of the Fright Zone. Adora almost expected an escort to be waiting to forcefully take her to Shadow Weaver, but there was no one around. Cautious of a trap - she couldn’t be captured before Catra was released - Adora kept her sword drawn until she was just outside the Horde base. 

The area was clear - empty. Too empty. Were the squads stretched thin enough against a rising Rebellion that the Horde was truly so unguarded? Or had Shadow Weaver sent them away to give Adora an easy route to her? Adora didn’t like it.

Taking what she’d learned from growing up with Catra, Adora stuck to the shadows, keeping out of sight of the rare soldiers walking past. Most of them seemed young - likely no one around older than her. All junior squad members then. Taking a deep breath, Adora darted to the entrance that was nearest the room containing the Horde’s runestone. 

Still no one. Shadow Weaver must have wanted all of this to be secret. That wasn’t too surprising. Bringing her ‘failures’ back to the Fright Zone after almost five years was sure to raise questions with other high ranking officers. If Adora was right, Shadow Weaver would keep all of this quiet until she had She-Ra under her control and ready to present to Hordak as some super soldier for the Horde. The thought made Adora shudder, but she kept going. Catra needed her.

Then she heard it.

The voices drifting down the hall were muffled at first, but grew clearer as Adora got closer to the room that fueled most of her childhood nightmares, and even some of her current ones. “You may have successfully defied me once before, but I knew one day I would have the pair of you back where you belonged.”

“Oh yeah, great job,” Catra sneered. “You bested a couple of sixteen year olds and now you’re taunting one of them. Real exemplary work _Shadow Weaver_. I can totally see why Hordak has _you_ leading his armies.”

“Silence!” 

Catra’s shriek of pain had Adora barrelling into the Black Garnet room. “SHADOW WEAVER!”

“Ah, the prodigal soldier has returned.” Shadow Weaver’s voice was triumphant, and it was even more frightening for the fact that Adora couldn’t see her face. “Bring it here, my Adora.”

“Adora don’t you dare!” Catra screamed.

Adora smiled reassuringly at Catra even as she wiped tears away with her forearm. “It’s okay Catra,” she said, voice trembling. “I promised, remember?”

The desperate look on Catra’s face was almost enough to make Adora falter. “Adora - please. Don’t.”

“Let her go and you can have the sword.” Adora shifted her focus back to Shadow Weaver and took a deep breath. “And me. But not before. If you try to trick me in any way, I’ll bring out She-Ra and we’ll see what happens to both of us.”

“I never wanted the animal anyway,” Shadow Weaver scoffed. “She was to be discarded before you pulled her out and insisted on staying with her. Idle fancies of children, it mattered not until I allowed her to have such a detrimental influence on you. So many times she pulled you away from your true home, Adora - from your destiny. Do you have any idea how _difficult_ it is to keep a mind healthy that must be _corrected_ as many times as yours has?”

Adora lifted She-Ra’s sword threateningly. Scorpia went into a defensive stance in the corner, but didn’t move without orders. “You tried to _erase_ me! You almost turned me into just another one of Hordak’s bots - following orders blindly, never thinking for myself!”

“If I have been such a burden to you, why return then Adora?”

Adora looked over at Catra, tears in her eyes. Catra shook her head, pleading silently for Adora to run. But Adora just let a sad smile cross her face as her head bent toward the floor. “Because she’s the most important person in my world,” she whispered. “Because she’s the one thing in my life that I’ve chosen for myself - the one thing I’ll always choose. And no matter how many times you erase me, she’ll always be there.” Hand still outstretched, her sword clattered to the floor. Tears were streaming down her face but Adora stood strong, now staring down Shadow Weaver. “You can’t take all my memories away, and Catra has been with me my whole life. I’ll still remember her, and there’s nothing you can do about it. So let her go.”

“Force Captain Scorpia, you will retrieve the sword from Adora and then - remove the animal and take her to the border of the Fright Zone. When you are finished, deliver the sword to Lord Hordak.” 

“Uh, yes Commander. I would like to uh, point out though, that um, Hordak doesn’t know about this, does he? And usually he, you know, likes to stay in the loop and all, and he can get a little mad so I was just wondering -”

“Silence!” Shadow Weaver yelled. “Hordak will know that I have delivered to him the mighty She-Ra for his war efforts, and that is all he _need_ know. Do I make myself _clear_?”

Scorpia saluted hurriedly. “Yes ma’am right away ma’am I will escort Catra very good. Carry on!” She scooped Catra out of the table and threw her over one shoulder, even as Catra battled and clawed and hissed, trying to escape her hold.

“NO! Adora! _Adora_!” she screamed, ears pinned flat to her head as she railed against Scorpia’s carapace.

Once they were out of sight, Adora dropped to her knees. Hands fisted in her hair as she did her best to stop crying. She wouldn’t give Shadow Weaver that power over her. The red lightning of her nightmares surrounded her, causing her to grunt in pain, but she kept mostly silent. She was moved to the table Catra had previously occupied and held there. No straps this time. She met Shadow Weaver’s gaze, refusing to show fear. 

Instead, she let herself remember every day of the last five years with Catra. Every time she could remember making her laugh, or purr, or squeak in embarrassment. It was enough to bring a smile to her face. 

Catra was going to be okay.

* * *

Catra was still struggling against Scorpia’s ridiculously strong hold when she was suddenly set down and being shoved into a small empty hallway. “Hey - !” Pincers covered her mouth as Scorpia looked over her shoulder. Catra pushed the much larger arm away from her. “What are you doing?” Catra asked, not trusting the scorpion for a second. She had to find a way to give her the slip before Shadow Weaver got the chance to hurt Adora.

“Oh geez, I know how this looks,” Scorpia let her go and scraped the back of her head awkwardly. “I have my orders, and I’m great at following them! Usually - but you two seem like such nice kids, and Shadow Weaver - well, I don’t really know what she wants little blondie for, but I don’t think Hordak knows about it? And he’s where most of my orders come from, so - here. You take _this_ ,” she passed over Adora’s sword to a no longer trying to escape Catra, “and you go grab your small friend. I’ll say you gave me the slip, and gravy! Everything’s okay again. Hordak never has to know what Shadow Weaver was doing!”

“I - what - you should come with us,” Catra blurted out, clutching the sword close. “You’re too - too _good_ to be with the Horde. And Shadow Weaver might punish you.”

Scorpia blushed. “Oh, _well_ that’s real nice of you to say kitty, but my family is from here. This was our kingdom, you know. I can’t just leave.”

“Wait, you’re a princess?”

“I guess so - you didn’t know that? It’s covered in Force Captain Orientatio- oh yeah, you ran away a while ago. And not everyone’s a Force Captain...boy I tell ya, sometimes the mind just - _goes_.” Scorpia chuckled. “Well, none of the other princesses ever really liked our family - we can be a bit scary.” She clacked her pincers together sadly. “Then the Horde came, and I’m a Force Captain, and things are pretty good! You know, except for the kidnapping thing that’s not great. Oh! You really should go get your friend now okay? Good luck!” She dashed off, leaving Catra stunned.

Catra stared off into space for a second. “What just happened?” She shook herself off. “Adora!” She left the hallway and sprinted back the way they’d come as fast as she could.

She couldn’t be too late. She couldn’t.

* * *

It hurt worse than she remembered.

That was all Adora could focus on. She’d screamed and cried when she was ten and Shadow Weaver tried to do this to her, and all could think was that it hurt worse now. But Catra was safe. She hadn’t failed. One last time.

“Stop fighting it and it will go so much smoother, my dear Adora,” Shadow Weaver practically cooed, assured in her comeuppance. “Just let it happen.”

Not a chance. There may be nothing she could do to fight, but Adora wasn’t going to make it easy on her. She focused on Catra. There was only so long she’d be able to hold out, but she was going to spend it remembering _everything_ about Catra. Her encouragement, her kindness, her patience. All things that she refused to blatantly show anyone except Adora. All the parts of Catra she -

The pain inside her head increased and she couldn’t hold back the building scream anymore. She struggled to move, to find some way to hide from it, but the lightning painfully crackling around her body only tightened. Adora screamed again.

It hurt it hurt it hurt. Make it stop - make it _stop_.

“You continue to make this worse for yourself, Adora. Stop being stubborn.”

Stubbornness was what Adora did best - didn’t Shadow Weaver know? Catra - she was thinking about Catra. Focus.

“You will be so much stronger when she is gone Adora. You can fulfill your destiny for the Horde - all that power. Under my control.”

She was going to pass out soon. Everything was going hazy around the edges. Adora fought to stay awake; if she fell asleep now, she knew Catra would be gone when she woke up. “You...don’t...own me,” she managed a weak snarl.

Shadow Weaver chuckled. “Oh, but I always have, Adora. You’ve merely forgotten in your time away. Don’t worry - I’ll remind you.”

“Hey Shadow Weaver!” 

Adora was able to just barely open her eyes as Shadow Weaver rounded on the intruder. “I should have _disposed_ of you while I had the chance,” she hissed, snake-like. 

Catra was in the doorway, shoulders heaving as she glared at their former commander. “I’m not so easy to get rid of,” she goaded. “Just a glutton for punishment I guess.” 

“Catra.” The attempted warning was barely audible even to Adora, and no one else in the room heard it. 

Wielding She-Ra’s sword with both hands, Catra dove out of the way of the burst of lightning Shadow Weaver launched at her. With Shadow Weaver distracted, the electricity holding Adora in place faded, and she slipped to the ground. Her head felt like spikes had been jammed into both temples, and her muscles all felt dead. She could hardly keep her eyes open and focused on Catra engaging with Shadow Weaver.

“You got old and slow!” Catra mocked. “I remember when you used to be able to catch me no matter what I pulled. How does it feel to be _bested_ by a sixteen year old?”

“Insolent mongrel! You have _long_ outlived your usefulness of keeping Adora in line!” Shadow Weaver spat.

Catra leapt up into the rafters and disappeared in shadow. “I’m not the one _losing_ Shadow Weaver.” The Horde Commander shot a bolt of lightning up in a random direction, howling in anger.

Adora saw it happen in slow motion. Catra suddenly vaulted from the shadows - her feet planted on Shadow Weaver’s chest and she _shoved_ , sending them in opposite directions. She landed on her feet while the sorceress fell heavily. 

Panting, Catra straightened, sword still in hand. “You will _never_ \- hurt us again,” she promised darkly, raising the blade. “You won’t come after us.” She began advancing on the downed Shadow Weaver. “You will never _touch_ her again.” The sword was at Shadow Weaver’s throat. “And to make sure of that -” Catra raised the blade and swung. Adora saw Shadow Weaver’s eyes close. There was a ‘clang’, and then the sound of tiny clatters as the gem inserted into Shadow Weaver’s mask was shattered by the flat of She-Ra’s blade. “Let’s see how quick Hordak is to replace that after the _last_ time I broke it,” Catra snarled with all the venom in the world as Shadow Weaver shrieked at the loss. She finished with a violent kick to Shadow Weaver’s head, knocking her out.

Adora’s vision kept fading in and out as she tried to catch her breath. “C-Catra.” 

Her best friend whirled around, all signs of animosity drained from her expression as she raced to Adora’s side, sliding the last few feet on her knees. “Adora!” Adora winced at the yell, and Catra apologetically toned it down. “Hey, Adora. I’m here I’ve gotcha. You did such a good job holding out, I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, hoisting Adora into a sitting position so she could pull her into the tightest hug Adora could remember. “Still got everything upstairs?”

She was going for nonchalant, but Adora could hear the very real fear in Catra’s tone. “I think so,” she murmured, her words slurring. “I don’t want to be here anymore Catra.”

“Good thing we’re leaving then. Come on, up you get. I’ll get after you about sacrificing yourself for me later.” Instinct led the pair down vaguely familiar hallways until they came across a room they recognized. Catra mustered up a half-formed, half-hearted grin. “Just like old times.” She helped Adora into the nearest skiff inside the hangar, and grabbed the controls. “Let’s hope I’m better at this than when I was ten.” The skiff tore out of the hangar at full speed. If they could survive a crash landing when they were younger, Catra was fairly certain they could now. Getting away as quickly as possible was more important at the moment. Adora was barely conscious, and Catra’s own aches and pains from Shadow Weaver’s magic were beginning to scream at her.

Miraculously, Catra got them to the edge of the Whispering Woods unscathed. She flew it just a few yards in to hide from any pursuit, then lifted Adora out. “Oh, this is so much harder than when we were kids. Did you _have_ to put on so much muscle?” Catra groaned. “Show us the way to the house?” she asked the trees. Adora was better at understanding what they wanted, but Catra could get by well enough. 

Sure enough, the ever present golden motes lined their way through the trees, leading Catra to their old home. She managed to wake Adora enough to at least half-climb the tree with Catra’s support and got her settled in their nest of blankets quickly. She lay down on top of Adora, starting up a deep, rumbling purr that had always helped both of their aches and pains the many times they’d been injured. 

“It’s over, Adora,” she whispered, her best friend already deeply asleep. She leaned up to press a kiss to Adora’s temple, tears dripping onto Adora’s face as Catra remembered just how close they’d come to losing each other. The fear from being kidnapped from her new, guarded, home was just catching up to her, and Catra knew it was going to be a long night. She kept purring, hoping to ease some of what Adora must have been feeling after Shadow Weaver dug around in her head yet again. “You’re mine,” Catra whispered fiercely. “You’re safe. And I’m never leaving you. No one can make me.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora might relax someday.

Adora immediately panicked when she woke up, the previous day flashing through her mind and no recognition of where she was. Catra. Where was Catra? She jerked into a sitting position and tried to get her head on straight. Shadow Weaver - no, Catra came back - right? That hadn’t been a dream? “Catra!”

Her best friend’s head popped over the wall of what Adora now saw was their treehouse, and Catra rushed inside when she realized Adora was awake. “Hey, Adora,” she soothed. “Take a deep breath okay? Focus on me.”

She tried to do what she was told, but Adora could only reach out for Catra and silently beg for her to come closer. Catra obliged, pulling Adora into her arms and stabilizing herself against the wall so Adora could lean her full weight into her without them toppling.

“We’re both right here,” Catra reassured her. “Just breathe with me for a minute Adora.” It had been a while since Adora had a panic attack this bad - usually Catra could yank her out of them pretty quickly. “Listen to the woods outside and breathe.”

Long minutes later, Adora had settled herself more comfortably against Catra’s chest, burrowing into the curve between her neck and shoulder and her breathing finally calming. “You’re here,” she murmured, taking in Catra’s forest-y scent. Every inch of her body burned and ached, her head at least now felt like somebody was stabbing a nail into her temples rather than a pike, but Catra was there with her. Somehow, they’d both escaped. 

“I’m here,” Catra repeated. “I’m sorry I left you, I didn’t mean to get taken.”

Adora shook her head emphatically. “Not your fault.” She almost hadn’t been quick enough. Even though Shadow Weaver had known she was coming, she still almost killed Catra while they waited for Adora to show up. Her hand fisted in Catra’s shirt.

“Hey, none of that,” Catra said, gently loosening her grasp and threading their fingers together. “You were perfect, Adora. And I might be really upset that you were going to sacrifice yourself for me like an idiot, but I’m still glad you came for me.”

“Always,” Adora muttered. “I told Shadow Weaver I’d always choose you. I don’t care if the world needs She-Ra -”

“Yes you do,” Catra interrupted. 

“I need _you_ ,” Adora finished, ignoring Catra. “I can’t - I can’t do this by myself. Can’t be the _hero_ everyone expects of me if I don’t have you. Glimmer and Bow...they’re amazing friends, but we’re partners. We can do anything.” And now she was crying again. Great. Adora tried to hide the tears, but Catra’s hold on her tightened like she knew, and lips pressed against her temple, soothing some of the pain there. “I need you,” she said again.

Someday they would have to learn how to be independent, Catra mused. This level of codependency probably wasn’t considered healthy by normal people, but when had they ever been normal? They were maybe sixteen year old former child soldiers now fighting for the opposite side, and one of them turned into a magical warrior lady from a millenia old civilization. They had earned the right to act however they wanted, she decided. Catra started up purring again, hoping to calm Adora back down, and brought her tail to brush against Adora’s wet cheeks. Adora grabbed onto the tip and held it close under her chin as she nuzzled into Catra’s soft chest. “I missed you,” she muttered.

They hadn’t been separated for more than a day in nearly a decade, by Adora’s memory. Catra could still remember days of loneliness in a cell, knowing that Adora wouldn’t be the same when they were together again, but even she hadn’t been away from Adora in five, almost six years. “I missed you too. Let’s not do that again.”

That prompted a wet chuckle from Adora before she sobered once more. “When will things get easier?”

“I wish I knew Adora. I don’t think anyone can say when this war will end. But I’m going to be right next to you the whole time fighting with you,” Catra promised, “and so will Arrow Boy and Sparkles. You won’t be alone.”

They stayed like that for at least an hour, Adora just working on breathing. “Do you ever want to come back home to stay?” she asked during that time.

Catra thought about it. “I’m not sure. I like the friends we’ve made - we never really had anyone but ourselves, and now there’s a lot of other people looking out for us, like Angella and Spinnerrella and ‘Tossa. And you can be pretty dumb sometimes, so I need all the help I can get.”

Adora nudged under Catra’s chin, huffing exasperatedly. “I’m - not that bad,” she protested.

“Excuse me? Which one of us gave themselves up to the woman who tortured us as kids? I mean - you didn’t even tell anyone else where you were going, did you?” Catra’s voice stayed lighthearted, but there was a hint of true reprimand in there as well that Adora immediately picked up on. “She could have killed you to get the sword,” Catra sighed. “Or at the very least taken you away from me forever. I don’t blame you for charging in, honestly I probably would have done the same, but - just be careful with yourself Adora. You’re not expendable.”

She didn’t dispute it, but Adora didn’t verbally agree either. It was a clear choice in her mind. Between her and Catra, Catra was always going to win out. “Okay,” she finally said.

Catra let it go for the moment and kissed the top of her head. “Do you want to try heading back to Brightmoon or do you want to hang out here for a while?”

“Can we - can we stay a little longer? Just us?”

“Of course Adora.”

* * *

“Catra! Adora!” Bow and Glimmer yelled in tandem when the pair trudged inside that evening. They had laid together in their old bed all afternoon, Catra telling Adora how one of Shadow Weaver’s shadows had lured her out of the castle as Glimmer, so similar to Adora’s story, and then she’d been whisked away by magic - she assumed Shadow Weaver had infiltrated the castle itself. Adora explained her journey through the forest alone and entering the Fright Zone. How scared she’d been.

But they were home now, and Bow and Glimmer had teleported right next to them and engulfed them both in massive hugs, chattering and demanding to know where they’d been and if they were alright.

That was going to be a long story. Adora glanced at Catra, who looked as exhausted as she felt, and managed to fend their friends off for the night, promising they’d tell them everything in the morning and that everything was fine for the moment. 

“Okay, but we’ve got news too!” Glimmer said excitedly. “I can’t wait to show yoouu!”

Despite sleeping and resting most of the night and day, Adora and Catra fell into their bed and were asleep instantly.

* * *

“Princess _Prom_?” Adora asked, incredulous. “What is that?”

“Sounds fishy,” Catra added.

Glimmer hadn’t even been able to wait for Bow to show up that morning before she was pounding on their door and barging in to show them the invitation that had been delivered while they were missing. She had been guilted into remembering the fact that they _had_ been missing for nearly two days when Bow arrived. They were both horrified listening to the whole story from Adora and Catra, and Glimmer promised that she would talk to her mother about upping the castle’s magical security with the help of the sorcerers from Mystacor to prevent Shadow Weaver from ever being able to spy on them or trespass again.

After reassuring Catra and Adora, Glimmer had immediately gotten right back on track of being ecstatic about this apparently once in a decade occurrence of - Princess Prom. The other two girls still hadn’t quite gotten caught up.

“So, what’s the big deal about all this?” Catra asked. She was too tired, had been through too much, to deal with the barrage of positivity from Bow and Glimmer that morning. It was like Seahawk’s exuberance all over again.

“ _Because_ , we get to get all dressed up, and it’s being hosted by Princess Frosta because it’s the Kingdom of Snows’ turn, and I haven’t had the chance to invite her to join the Princess Alliance yet!” Glimmer shouted. “It’s _perfect_!”

“Okay, you’ve gone crazy,” Adora decided. “We’ll come back later.” 

She grabbed Catra by the back of her collar and tried to tug her from the room but Catra took her hand and pulled her back to the bed. “Just - give them a chance to explain it better Adora,” she said, laughing.

“It’s pretty much just a big party for all the princesses,” Bow took up the explanation. “Every princess is invited, there’s dinner, dancing -”

“ _Dancing_?” Adora gulped.

Catra just chuckled again. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” she promised.

“When did _you_ learn dancing?” That was definitely _not_ a class taught in squad training.

“I’m a genius. Also one of the Force Captains showed me some steps when I was little and saw them practicing. She’d learned it from spying in one of the kingdoms - don’t remember which one. I can teach you.”

Alright, that was one less thing to be anxious about. But that was still a lot of strangers and princesses to impress all at once. Plus - “I’m only a princess part of the time. Are you _sure_ I’m invited?”

“Don’t be a little fainting flower about it Adora,” Catra teased, nudging her shoulder with a grin. “Don’t you remember you’re _the_ big princess of power or something? Of course you’re invited.”

Bow handed over the invitation addressed to Adora. “Wait, why wasn’t Catra invited?” She was probably asking too many questions - she should stop. What was all this ‘etiquette’ the invitation was talking about? There were _rules_? 

Catra rolled her eyes. “Because I’m not a princess dummy.”

“Don’t worry so much Adora! You can take a plus one! Bow’s mine!” Glimmer announced.

Bow winced. “Actually...I’m going with Perfuma.”

Cue disaster tornado that was a furious and hurt teleporting Glimmer. Adora and Catra made a quick exit while Bow fended off Glimmer’s demanding questions about why he didn’t want to go with her.

“You _are_ going with me, right?”

“I will, but you better ask me nicely,” Catra teased. “I’m expecting you to go all out for me.”

Adora nodded with a serious look on her face that matched their battle strategy planning sessions. “Right.”

A hand tugged at her ponytail, pulling Adora from her thoughts. “I was _kidding_ , Adora. Of course I’m going with you.”

“Oh. Great,” Adora sighed in relief. “I cannot face all those people on my own. Look at this Catra! Proper curtsey depth, silverware use order, greetings to give per official rank, this is ridiculous! What happened to ‘Yes sir’, ‘No ma’am’, and ‘Right away Captain’?”

Catra examined the list of rules, brow furrowed. “Well,” she said doubtfully, “we can ask Spinnerella and Netossa. They’re technically princesses right? Although, what are they princesses of exactly? They’re just - always here.”

“I have...no idea,” Adora realized. “Well if there’s time before this disaster of a party, we can ask them.”

“It is _not_ going to be that bad Adora. Might even give us a chance to relax after, you know, everything from the past week. And year. I know I could use a night off - what about you?”

Adora looked cute when she was thinking so hard, Catra decided. “I suppose. Glimmer just made it sound like it was so critical that we get Princess Frosta into the Alliance during this party.”

“You let Glimmer worry about Frosty - she’s the commander after all, not you. You focus on hanging out with me for a night.” A thought occurred to her. “Oh! I totally forgot to tell you because of everything, but that Scorpia woman? The Force Captain that let me go? She’s a princess!”

“Wait. _What_?

“I know!” Catra grinned. “She told me about it on accident.”

“What’s a princess doing in the Fright Zone?” Adora wondered.

Catra shrugged. “Guess it used to be her family’s kingdom before the Horde came. The Black Garnet though? I’ll bet that used to be their runestone before Hordak let Shadow Weaver get her grubby hands at it.”

Adora flinched at the mention of Shadow Weaver. “Y-yeah,” she stuttered. “Well, I really want to thank Scorpia for helping us. You think she’ll be at the dance?”

“If all princesses get an invitation, I don’t see why not. She did say something about the other kingdoms not liking her family, but she’s officially nicer than even Bow, so that’s dumb.”

“It says here that the party is neutral ground,” Adora said, scanning the rules again. “Which means no weapons, which means Horde can’t start anything, which means if she comes, we should be able to have an actual conversation with no kidnappings involved.”

Catra grinned, throwing a playful punch at Adora’s shoulder. “All the better! Come on - I’ll race you back to our room. Hopefully Glimmer and Bow have left. I’m ready for a nap.”

“But Catra,” Adora whined even as she followed along at a jog. “There’s so much to _plan_ for! So much to study!”

“And you’d rather do that than find a nice patch of sun coming in from the window and nap with me?”

Well that was a rhetorical question if Adora had ever heard one. Catra was always so soft and _warm_ , and she _was_ still pretty tired… “Fine,” she surrendered. “But only for a little bit. This prom thing is only a few weeks away, and there’s so much to do.”

“Yeah, yeah. Nap first.”

* * *

Adora almost swallowed her tongue when Catra strutted into the room. She’d been working on learning more about the rest of the world outside the Horde, and especially since Spinnerella and Netossa’s embarrassing lecture on ‘love’ - she was still trying to figure out all the connotations of _that_ \- she’d been working on words. Specifically ones that felt like perhaps the Horde might have banned their soldiers from learning about. 

And Catra?

She was _beautiful_. That was one Adora had learned recently. Often used in reference to girls and women in regards to their looks - a positive meaning - a compliment. Similar to pretty. Compliments had been rare in the Horde, but occasionally they received a gruff ‘Good job’ from some of the nicer Force Captains. 

There was another word Adora had found alongside ‘beautiful’, more commonly used for men and those of neutral gender: handsome. Also positive. 

Catra looked _so_ handsome in her maroon suit and dress shirt, undone bow tie draping around her neck. It was almost identical in color to what she’d used to wear in the Horde and had worked with a tailor to recreate in Brightmoon. The tighter uniform she’d said helped with her balance and flow for her bare clawed feet and tail. This suit would do none of those things, but Catra looked so _good_.

Adora didn’t know if her brain was ever going to function again, standing there with her mouth open the slightest bit and her eyes wide.

“So. What d’you think?” Catra grinned, turning in a circle. “Bow helped me pick it out.”

“I uh - I,” Adora stuttered. “Good! You look great, wow, it is hot in here we should get someone in about that, but yeah!” She gave Catra a _very_ awkward thumbs up.

Catra gave her a confused look. “Okay...weirdo.” She scanned the red dress Adora had found - thanks to Glimmer insisting she take a break from studying the etiquette rules - and smiled at how they unintentionally matched. “You look really pretty Adora,” she complimented, voice going soft.

Adora blushed and fiddled with the hilt of her sword nervously. “Th-thanks.” Catra came over and took her hand, nudging up under her chin affectionately to force Adora to meet her gaze. “Stay close to me tonight?” Adora whispered shakily. She was still nervous about the party in general and feeling a little paranoid after everything with Shadow Weaver. She didn’t think she could get through the night without Catra.

“Of course. We’re gonna pig out on fancy finger foods, I’m teaching you how to dance, we say hi and thanks to Scorpia if she shows, and ditch if we get nervous,” Catra promised. She wasn’t really looking forward to a crowd of people either, but she was determined to keep a brave face on tonight for Adora. 

“That sounds good.” And it did, Adora realized. A night of having fun with Catra - it felt like they hadn’t had time to just have _fun_ since they’d agreed to help the Rebellion. Not like they used to have in the Woods. It was one battle after another, new princesses, and new problems all the time. Maybe they’d actually manage to relax for a few hours.

* * *

First off - the Kingdom of Snows was _cold_ , and Catra was none too pleased about that. But somehow, the castle that looked like it was made out of ice was a much more pleasant temperature, so she wasn’t going to complain about the change. She could stop clinging to Adora, who was like a furnace. She’d always been that way, otherwise Catra might have wondered if it was She-Ra’s magic humming inside her. Maybe it was anyway. Magic was weird like that.

Adora wasn’t pumped about giving up the sword, but she’d known it would be required, with all the studying she’d done over the last week. Catra managed to pull her away from the entrance before she’d given the poor butler too many instructions. Glimmer was on the other side of the room already, greeting a tiny kid. “Is that Princess Frosty?” she wondered.

Adora looked where Catra did, and seemed surprised as well. “Princess _Frosta_. Nobody told me she was,” she lowered her voice, “so little.” Then Bow arrived with Perfuma on his arm, and Adora could practically see Glimmer twitching at the sight. “What’s that all about, you think?” she asked.

“No clue,” Catra shrugged. “Maybe she’s just upset about messing up their normal routine? Seems kind of dramatic, but it’s Glimmer so…”

“True.” Glimmer could be a little - over the top about things that Adora and Catra didn’t really understand the importance of. Or were at least slower to pick up on. Probably because of the Horde upbringing, Adora decided and let it go. “Should we check on her?”

Catra started tugging Adora over to where food tables were lined up. “Nah, let’s check these out! Maybe they’ve got new stuff we haven’t tried!”

“Oh good! Your small friend’s okay!” Strong arms hooked under Adora’s knees and behind her back before lifting her into a tight, cradling hug. Catra barely rescued the plate of food Adora had just assembled and subsequently dropped.

“ _Urk_!” Adora couldn’t breathe.

Scorpia squeezed tighter for a moment before setting her down gently. “Sorry! I’m a hugger. Wow, you guys are - you look great!”

“Hey Scorpia,” Catra greeted casually. “Wasn’t sure if you’d come.”

“Ah, yeah.” Scorpia scraped at the back of her neck with one pincer nervously. “I wasn’t going to, but I thought, hey! You all might be here, and I _really_ wanted to apologize for the whole kidnapping thing again. Hordak found about it and he was like, whoa. Super not too thrilled about Shadow Weaver going behind his back and all, and then her letting you two escape on top of that, so he - threw her in prison. Don’t tell Hordak I let you go alright?”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Adora drawled, accepting her plate back from Catra.

Scorpia grinned. “Great! So yeah, Shadow Weaver was in prison, but now she’s escaped, and Hordak is, boy, not too happy about that _either_ , so I thought a night out was a good idea!”

“Shadow Weaver _escaped_?” Catra blurted out.

“Yeeaah,” Scorpia’s smile dropped for a moment as she thought. “Not sure how she did that. But you guys are okay, that’s just great!” She had the most genuine smile either of them had ever seen, which was startling given that she was from the Fright Zone. 

Adora reached out an arm to lay it on Scorpia’s pincer. “Thank you. For letting Catra rescue me. For letting her go. I can’t - I can’t tell you - just thank you.” Catra took her hand when it was free again, squeezing it and purring against her arm after headbutting her shoulder gently.

“Ooohh, you two are _so_ cute!” Scorpia squealed with stars in her eyes. “I’m gonna let you two keep being cute and all, oh really, it’s too much! I’m going to be over here, okay bye!”

“She is…”

“Something,” Catra agreed. “And I forgot to ask if she’d changed her mind about leaving the Horde,” she remembered suddenly. “Ugh, whatever. I’ll get to it. Come on, let’s dance!” 

Adora was suddenly yanked toward where the first dance of the evening was just beginning. Catra spun her in a circle with a little laugh. When Adora got her bearings back, her best friend had her hand held up, smirking and waiting for her. “Wha-?”

“Hand against mine,” Catra instructed. “We’re going to move around each other - just keep your eyes on me, we’ll be fine.”

Keep watching Catra? Yeah, Adora could do that. She followed Catra’s lead, only faltering when Catra suddenly dipped her. Adora would have panicked about being dropped on her head, but Catra’s strong hand was secure around her waist. Catra gave her the smuggest look, seeing the brief fear.

“Told you you’d be fine,” she teased, bringing Adora back up to standing. The song ended moments later, and Catra gave her a bow. “You wanna go?” she offered, checking in.

She was having - fun. No, she didn’t want to go right now. Adora put her own arm around Catra’s waist and pulled her in closer. “I want to keep dancing,” she murmured.

Catra’s smile grew. “That sounds perfect.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a combo of some Season 1, Season 3, and maybe some Season 2 stuff, so there will be familiar dialogue in this one, but it's all mashed together in hopefully a unique way.

Weeks after Princess Prom - with Glimmer successfully wrangling Princess Frosta into the Alliance while mending whatever snafu she had with Bow - and the Horde had been...quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Quiet enough that it kept Adora up at night, much to Catra’s dismay. “Adora,” she grumbled every night that Adora returned to bed from a midnight excursion outdoors to check for any strange happenings and woke her up. “Please just _sleep_ , or when something _does_ finally happen, you’re going to be too tired to deal with it. And so will I!”

But Adora couldn’t relax. She just _knew_ that they were on the edge of something. Things were about to change. She simply didn’t know how. “I’m sorry,” she apologized every night as she got up for yet another patrol around the grounds. “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

It was one such night, Catra clinging to her and purring in her sleep, and Adora trying to stay awake. Her eyes kept drifting closed, her fingers slowing their scratches around Catra’s ears, and eventually stilling as her head drifted to meet Catra’s and she fell fully asleep.

Hours later, a shadow drifted across her face, blocking the ever present light of the Moonstone shining through her window. Adora flinched and stirred, her eyes fluttering open.

The face of her nightmares hovered over her.

Adora screamed, startling Catra from her sleep. As Catra fell to the floor with a thump, Adora swung out in a wild punch, her fist connecting with the side of Shadow Weaver’s face. Having caught up with the situation, Catra leapt over the bed, bracing all four limbs on Shadow Weaver’s chest and propelling her head first into the wall. With a crack, Shadow Weaver slumped to the floor.

“Adora, go get the queen,” Catra ordered. She could see her friend spiralling into a panic attack, and if she stayed in the room any longer, Adora was going to be unable to help for hours. “Adora, _now_!”

“I’m not leaving you with _her_!” Adora protested. 

Catra darted over to frame Adora’s face with both her hands, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “She’s unconscious and I’ll tie her up. The quicker you go, the sooner you bring back help and we can figure out why she’s here in our _bedroom_ of all places, okay?” she coaxed. “Do this for me, Adora.”

“Y-yeah. Okay. You keep the sword. Be careful.” Adora sprinted from the room.

* * *

“If she’s here, she is _planning_ something,” Adora said, frustration lacing her voice as she paced outside the spare room that was apparently now doubling as a prison cell. The Rebellion _really_ couldn’t be any less like the Horde if it tried. Who didn’t have a prison? “We have to figure out what it is. I don’t care if she’s super weak because her connection to the Black Garnet’s been severed. She’s still dangerous!”

“We _will_ ,” Glimmer promised. “But Adora - Shadow Weaver hurt you guys. A lot. I don’t think it’s bad that my mom doesn’t want you near her. Mom’s just protecting you guys.”

Catra cut in. “Yeah that’s great and all, but we _know_ Shadow Weaver. We - _I_ \- can get under her skin. We know all her tricks.”

“Obviously she’s here for us,” Adora added. “She’s _obsessed_ with the plans she had for me.” She looked disgusted at the thought. Catra went over and took her hand and Adora buried her face in her neck, shoulders suddenly shaking with silent tears. “When will she leave us alone?” she choked out. Bow and Glimmer clustered around Adora too, enveloping her with their hugs. It was enough to help her relax and focus on the task at hand. “I have to _know_ what she wants from us this time,” she insisted. “Glimmer, you’re the only way I get in there without your mom finding out. Please?”

Glimmer sighed, then groaned dramatically in a way that Mermista would be proud of. “ _Fine_.” 

* * *

The room was dark except for a pillar of light emitting from a rune burned into the floor that was apparently keeping Shadow Weaver trapped. Adora supposed with magic a spare room could be used as a prison cell, but she’d still feel better if there were fewer cushions in their ‘prison’. And more bars over exits. “Your mom needs to dig out a basement or something to keep people in,” she muttered.

“I’ll be sure to tell her,” Glimmer replied sarcastically, Adora’s only company in the room. Catra had been left outside, much to her displeasure - hissing and all. But she and Shadow Weaver were too good at instigating each other. If Adora was going to get any information, it would have to be just her. No matter how much she wanted Catra there to remind her that she was safe. Bow was keeping her company just outside - she would be fine.

“Adora, I knew you’d come,” Shadow Weaver said in that sweet voice that would give Adora chills when she was younger. It was _always_ followed up with some harsh reprimand disguised as mentoring, or subtle threats of how Catra would be taken away if Adora failed to keep her in line.

She glared at her former commander. “I’m not here to reconnect, so save it,” she growled. “I want information. Why are you here, what could you possibly want? Escaping the Horde and coming straight to Rebellion headquarters wasn’t your brightest move, Shadow Weaver.”

“I came for _you_ Adora.”

That was...pretty much her worst nightmare. Even though Adora knew that she was the reason, was _always_ the reason, it still made everything in her gut coil up in terror. She steeled herself - she would _not_ lose it in front of Shadow Weaver. Never again. “Thought the running away and fighting back twice now would have gotten the message across: I am _never_ going back to the Horde. Or to you. I’ll die first. So answer me, or I’m leaving and you’ll never see me again: why are you _here_?”

A cruel sounding laugh rolled out from behind the Horde commander’s mask. “You want to know the truth? Fine. I have nowhere left to go,” Shadow Weaver hissed. “Hordak has deemed me to have outlived any usefulness. He’s done fighting this little war on your terms. He’s been working for years on a machine - one that will open a portal through space and bring the rest of the Horde’s armies here to Etheria and crush your pathetic backwater Rebellion once and for all. And he’s getting closer.”

“There’s more of the Horde out there?” Glimmer whispered in shock, looking terrified.

“Beyond what you can comprehend, little Princess,” Shadow Weaver sneered. “What you have struggled to a stalemate with for over a generation is nothing compared to the organized forces that will come through that portal if Hordak succeeds.”

Adora frowned, trying to put together everything Shadow Weaver was saying. “If he’s been trying for so long, what makes you sure he’s close now?”

“Why does that matter?” Glimmer shouted. A shuffling at the door drew Adora’s attention, and then Catra was running in with a guilty looking Bow and irate Queen Angella right behind, drawn by the yelling. Adora refocused on the current threat. She could worry about the others later. There was something else that Shadow Weaver was hiding… “Portals to other worlds?!” Glimmer continued. “That’s ridiculous! _Obviously_ she’s trying to scare us!”

“It must all seem very unlikely to you. A universe beyond our reach? Impossible. And yet - the evidence stands before us.” Her hand rose up and pointed straight at Adora.

Catra put a hand on Adora’s back in silent support as Adora stared at Shadow Weaver. “Me?” she asked doubtfully.

“Hordak succeeded once before,” Shadow Weaver explained. “Years ago, he opened a portal. Only for a moment, but long enough for a child to come through. That child was _you_ Adora. You were brought through a portal from another world.”

It felt like the floor had disappeared out from under her. No - that wasn’t - it _couldn’t_ be true. “What?” she whispered.

“Leave her alone!” Catra yelled.

“You’re lying!” Glimmer agreed. “We all know it. You lie about _everything_.”

Shadow Weaver glared at the interruptions of her focus on Adora. “I gain _nothing_ from lying,” she said impatiently. “Adora is different from us. You think just _anyone_ could wield the Sword of Protection? But perhaps you would prefer the comfort of lies.”

“That’s enough,” Queen Angella ordered.

“Don’t listen to her Adora,” Bow said.

“Adora?”

Catra’s worried voice broke Adora. She couldn’t be here - couldn’t do this. Adora turned tail and ran.

“ _Adora_!”

Adora fled the room, the castle, Brightmoon’s boundaries. She didn’t stop when she reached the border of the Whispering Woods, didn’t slow as the voices of her friends - of _Catra’s_ \- faded in the distance, didn’t stop until she stood in front of the Crystal Castle, outside the only place that may be able to give her answers. She had only been back a couple times since the day they’d met Bow and Glimmer, but the hologram, _Light Hope_ , she knew things. About Adora, about She-Ra. She was annoying, and hiding things every time Adora went back for ‘training’ that never really seemed to help, but she had answers. 

“Eternia!” she gasped at the entrance, throwing herself inside the moment the door opened. “Light Hope! I know you’re here!”

“Greetings Adora,” the mechanical voice said from behind her, startling Adora. “I was not expecting you - perhaps you are ready to finally begin your training in earnest?”

Adora shook her head. “I didn’t come for training today, Light Hope - I came for answers. Do you know where I’m from?”

“Yes,” Light Hope responded simply. “I have been waiting for you since you were an infant, but I could not reach you. Nor could I protect you from the Horde. I watched you grow up from afar, but even after you escaped, the magic in this forest would not allow me to contact you.”

The Whispering Woods hadn’t wanted Adora here? That sent alarm bells ringing in her head. “Okay...why were you watching _me_ specifically? What makes me special?”

“You are She-Ra, Etheria’s champion, appointed by the First Ones to protect this planet. There were many before you, but the line was broken by your predecessor. You are the first She-Ra in a thousand years.”

“But why _me_?” Adora insisted. “If you’ve been watching me since I was a baby, then you have to know what I really am. Where I came from.” The anxiety and _anger_ were increasing the longer Light Hope kept silent. The hologram turned her back, flickering for a moment, like she was thinking of shutting herself down. “ _Answer me_!” Adora screamed.

Light Hope half turned, looking at Adora out of the corner of her eye. “It is true,” she admitted. “You are not of Etheria.”

Adora ran her hands through her hair, forcing herself to stay calm although she wanted nothing more than to panic at the confirmation that she wasn’t from this _world_. “Then _where_?” she demanded.

“I can show you.” 

A projection surrounded Adora, startling her. She gasped as an image of a swirling purple - _hole_ in the sky appeared. 

“That is the portal you came through Adora,” Light Hope explained needlessly from beside Adora. Adora flinched as Hordak - a man she’d seen only once before - walked through her from behind, approaching the squalling cries of a baby Adora knew was her. “The Horde stole you, turned you into a soldier for their war. Or they tried. I could not stop them, but you escaped on your own. After that, I watched and waited for the day you would unite with the sword, as you were always meant to.”

Adora drew the sword from its sheath at her back. “The sword,” she murmured. “These powers. They…”

“The First Ones came from beyond the stars,” Light Hope confirmed. “They made the sword so that it would only respond to one of their own kind.”

“I’m - I’m a First One?” Deep down, she’d known it since Shadow Weaver had first claimed her to not be of Etheria. Too many things hadn’t made sense. The sword, being able to read the First Ones’ writings, it all fit together too neatly to be coincidence. She looked down at the sword, grip tightening on the hilt.

“You are upset,” Light Hope noted. “I do not understand.”

“Did I have a family? I don’t -” She didn’t want to go _back_ , not if it would mean leaving Catra behind. But - “Would a portal take me back? Would that even be possible?”

Light Hope shook her head. “The previous She-Ra before you, Mara, cut us off from the universe. She trapped Etheria inside of an empty dimension known as Despondos.”

“Wait. Mara?” Adora asked, distracted momentarily. “Madame Razz’ Mara? She’s real? What happened to her?”

“She struggled with the power you carry, a power she could not control. She became compromised, afraid, and left us stranded here in Despondos, breaking the She-Ra line. Mara almost destroyed us all, Adora. When she cut us off from the rest of the universe, portals became impossible to utilize. Attempting to open one now could have devastating consequences for Etheria.” Light Hope flashed an alarming red color at those words.

Adora frowned. “Then how did a portal bring _me_?” 

“A fortunate accident that it did not destroy our world,” Light Hope dismissed. 

“But Mara - she must have come from the same place _I_ did.”

“Irrelevant.”

Adora grit her teeth, anger growing again. Every time she felt like she was finally _getting_ somewhere, Light Hope shut her down. “Then why did she do it? Why separate us from her home?”

“It does not matter. This is your home now. As She-Ra, you are -”

“You aren’t _listening_ to me!”

Light Hope’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You are behaving erratically. To bear the power of She-Ra is an honor.”

“What about me? Don’t _I_ get a say in all this? Don’t I get a choice?”

“No.”

The unflinching denial shook Adora to her core. She-Ra really was just some cosmic destiny for Etheria, and she wasn’t even Etherian? Was this all she was going to be for the rest of her life - some hero the entire world depended on with no consideration for her own desires?

“This is your destiny. You do not choose.”

“That’s stupid!” Catra’s voice yelled at Light Hope from behind Adora, startling her. She hadn’t known she’d been followed. Had Catra just been waiting and listening this whole time? “Everyone has a choice!” Catra continued. “Just because Hordak _stole_ her and she’s a First One doesn’t mean Adora doesn’t get to ever make her own decisions!”

“Only She-Ra is allowed inside the Crystal Castle. Unauthorized entry.” 

Catra grabbed Adora’s hand and squeezed it firmly. “You might need her to be She-Ra, but she _certainly_ never needed you! You have _no_ idea what Adora’s been through! You don’t get to treat her like some - some _soldier_ for the cause of a people that haven’t even _been here_ in over a thousand years!”

If a hologram could glare, Light Hope was burning Catra to a crisp. Then she gave a simple command. “Deploying countermeasures.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter I think will have the answers many of you have been wanting, so I'll see you next week!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth about Adora's lost memories

“Countermeasures?” Adora asked, dreading the thought of what _those_ might be.

The room went from blue to red, and Adora could feel the energy humming through it as Light Hope disappeared. “Adora?” Catra sounded nervous. “What just happened?”

“Nothing good,” Adora muttered, grabbing Catra’s hand. “We have to get you out of here.”

“Me? What about you?”

A screeching sound not unlike the giant bugs they sometimes faced in the Woods had them both pausing. “It’s _you_ she’s mad at,” Adora explained, “and me by accessory, I guess. You’re an invader now - I think this is what happens when she doesn’t recognize the administrator, which is She-Ra, but right now she’s just _angry_.”

Mechanical spiders with red eyes and varying sizes appeared from the darkness surrounding them, hissing and clacking metal pincers. “Oh, that’s not good,” Catra murmured.

“We have to move!” Adora shoved Catra bodily in front of her, hoping the spiders might recognize her as the administrator and slow down. “That door there!” Said door was currently closing, but Adora ran ahead and held it open long enough for Catra to slip through before letting it slam down on the legs of the spiders chasing them.

“Okay, that was too close,” Catra complained. “Can you tell your jumped up program to knock it off?”

Adora glared at her, annoyed. “She just got finished telling me I don’t have a choice in the direction my life goes, you _really_ think she’s in the mood to listen to my requests?”

“Well when you put it like that...no.”

“Let’s just - keep moving,” Adora sighed. “That door isn’t going to hold them off forever.” They ran around a corner, only to be met by a dead end. More spiders began crawling down from the darkness of the ceiling above. “Alright, stand back.” She pushed Catra closer to the wall and out of the path of the spiders.

“Adora, what are you doing?” Catra squeaked out a yelp as a beam of light shot from She-Ra’s sword, her friend having quickly transformed into the warrior. The magic cut through the spiders, splitting most of them in half to reveal their mechanical innards, but also hit the metal ceiling above, sending debris crashing down toward them. “Adora!”

Adora shoved Catra into a crouch, shifting the sword into a shield and protecting her back as she she hovered over Catra. She was _definitely_ going to have a bruise where that large piece of rock just impacted her shoulder, but at least Catra was covered. “Come on,” she muttered once the avalanche of rock and metal had stopped. “We have to keep moving. There will be more.”

“And do what?” Catra asked, annoyed. “Hold out long enough until she decides you’re done with this magical what - quest or drill or whatever? Until she stops being mad? Seems like she’s got a lot of the control around here.”

“She is _designed_ to help She-Ra. Maybe I can _make_ Light Hope listen to her,” Adora growled, lifting Catra to her feet with ease. “Come on. Nowhere to go but forward right now.”

“Comforting.” The pair walked until they hit another dead end - this one with glowing symbols they now both recognized, even if only Adora could read it. “Same password?” Catra asked.

Adora nodded. “Eternia,” she commanded. The solid wall slid apart. “Is that how you got in in the first place?”

“Yeah. I’m not the idiot here,” Catra said, nudging Adora playfully. Maybe she could get her to relax. “I can remember a one word password and recognize the symbols even if I can’t read it.” 

“Remind me to teach you.” Catra thought it had worked for a moment. Adora started to smile at her, but then her eyes caught on something. “Wait. What is that up there? Light Hope?” Adora moved a little more quickly, forcing Catra to trot to keep up. 

A red light formed a sphere around them and then flashed, forcing the girls to shield their eyes. “What -?”

Adora gasped, startling Catra. The darkness and metal and red had been replaced by the ever present green of the Fright zone. “No, no, no,” Adora muttered, arms going tight around her sides as she shifted back to her own body without warning.

Catra quickly hugged her and didn’t let go of her hand. “It’s okay,” she soothed. “There’s no way we’re in the Fright Zone. This is just a trick of that hologram’s. We’re okay.” Guiding Adora along with her, Catra hesitantly explored around them. The wall glitched, causing suspicion. “Wait a minute.” Around a corner there was a guard, and without even trying to talk to them, Catra stuck her hand straight through their head. “It’s not even solid, Adora.” No answer. “Adora?”

Her best friend wasn’t behind her when she turned around.

“Adora!”

Adora spun around in the hallway. “Catra?” 

Someone ran straight through her legs, glitching as they hit her and sprinting into the arms of a small blonde child. “Adora!” a young - very young - Catra sniffed, pointing at her face. “Is it - broken?”

“Hey, Adora?” the older Catra she knew now spoke from behind her.

“Shh,” Adora hushed her, fixated on the scene playing out in front of them. She remembered this day. 

“No, silly!” Little Adora said, laughing. “It’s not broken - it’s not even bleeding! You’re fine. _You’re_ the one that picked a fight with Octavia. Why’d you do that?”

Little Catra hissed, frowning and poking at her hurt nose. “She has a dumb face. And she was going to tell Shadow Weaver that you snuck extra ration bars out of the cafeteria yesterday,” she mumbled. “I didn’t want you to get in trouble with Shadow Weaver - now she’ll be mad at me.”

There was a strange glitching, like the memory was having trouble loading, but then it continued smoothly. “Well, you shouldn’t be getting into fights with people higher rank,” Little Adora scolded. “You gotta stay in line, Catra, or you’re going to keep getting in trouble.”

Adora flinched. She _hated_ the way she sounded. How she’d failed to understand that Catra was going to get herself hurt to protect Adora from the same. Why had she been so _stupid_ as a kid?

“Catra. My office. _Now_ ,” Shadow Weaver’s imperious voice startled all four kids, memory and real.

The room went dark again as the memory ended. “I’m sorry,” Adora whispered miserably, expecting Catra to be angry for all the pain she’d gone through. That Adora hadn’t protected her from. She slid down the wall to the metal floor, hunching over her knees and wrapping her arms around her shins.

There was a long silence, and Adora winced. “That isn’t what happened,” Catra finally said, sounding stunned. “That - is that what it’s like? In your head? Is that how you remember it?”

“Yeah.” The walls of the Fright Zone faded back to blackness.

“Adora.” Catra’s voice had gone so soft - gentle. “That isn’t how it went. Adora, that’s the first time we tried to run away.”

“W-What??”

Catra sighed, sitting down to hug Adora from behind. “We were six here, I think. Or about there. All of the first stuff happened - me picking a fight with Octavia so Shadow Weaver would get mad at me instead of you, but Adora. You didn’t scold me like that. You took my hand,” Catra grabbed Adora’s hand in real life, “and told me we were going to leave before I was punished. That you weren’t going to let Shadow Weaver hurt me for protecting you.” She huffed a bitter laugh. “But we were six. We were caught about five feet outside the doors by the watch. That was the first time I was thrown in solitary, and you came back - different. Like it never happened. I had no idea what to do.”

Adora had known for years that Shadow Weaver had erased days of her life in an attempt to separate her and Catra, to keep her the dutiful soldier, but - Shadow Weaver had _replaced_ those memories with _lies_? “I thought - I thought they were just _gone_ ,” she whispered. “I didn’t know. Catra, I didn’t _know_.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Catra said, holding her tight as Adora started crying softly. “None of this was your fault. And now we do know, and maybe I can tell you what really happened. I thought you just didn’t have those days, but maybe I can fix some of it, alright? We’ll work on it once we get out of here. Think your psychopath trainer is ready to stop trying to kill me?”

The room around went red again. 

“I’m going to take that as a no,” Catra muttered.

Adora kicked the wall of the Fright Zone nearest her, groaning loudly. “What is the _point_ of all this?!”

“To make me hate you.” Catra had figured it out the second the false memory had played through. “Light Hope thinks I’m in the way and is trying to get me to leave you. Separate us - probably because she thinks that way you’ll focus more on She-Ra.” 

“Well she’s got another thing coming,” Adora growled.

Catra couldn’t help the little smirk on her face. “Yeah, too bad she didn’t know Shadow Weaver is insane and filled your head up with lies apparently.”

“Catra wait up!” a young Adora shouted above their heads, swinging her best along the rafters as a small Catra gleefully leapt and swung much easier. 

“What’s it like being the world’s slowest person?!” Catra yelled over her shoulder. Both of the older girls looked up, following their younger selves’ progression. 

Little Catra must have seen something, suddenly dropping to the floor, her ears flickering interestedly and her tail sticking straight up. Little Adora dropped with a huff and much less gracefully. She tugged at Catra’s hair, but the little one didn’t move, and eventually Adora looked where she was. “Whoa,” she murmured.

In front of them was the entrance to the Black Garnet chamber.

“Oh no,” older Adora whispered. This was her worst memory of her childhood. The day of her greatest failure.

Both girls watched the little ones enter the chamber, following with trepidation. They watched Adora touch the runestone and it shock her, Shadow Weaver yelling, Catra being caught by the dark lightning while Adora ran. “Shadow Weaver it was my fault,” little Adora begged, immediately returning for her friend. “It was my idea too!”

The world glitched again. 

“Adora, return to your barracks,” Shadow Weaver ordered. Catra cried out in pain as the magic tightened and squeezed around her little body. “ _You_ ,” she hissed at Catra, “have never been anything but a _nuisance_ , with your disgraceful behavior, and I will _not_ allow you to drag Adora down to your level.”

Catra’s next scream had Adora running in between them, holding out her arms. “Please, stop! She didn’t mean to!”

The magic faded slowly, and Catra slumped to the ground, panting. “You _must_ keep better control of her, Adora. Do _not_ let something like this happen again.” She patted Adora on the head while Catra glared behind.

The world faded around Adora and Catra, leaving them in darkness. Adora lashed out, punching the metal wall, following it up with another. And another. She let out a pained shout, sliding down the wall to huddle on the ground, head in her hands. “How much of that was real?” she mumbled angrily through her fingers. “How much of that was me failing you so _miserably_?”

“Up until Shadow Weaver told you to leave,” Catra murmured, barely visible in the dark surrounding them. “You put up a fight, kind of like back there, but at one point you grabbed me and tried to pull me away from her. Shadow Weaver ended up throwing you against a wall to separate us - not surprising she erased that,” Catra hissed. “She called in Octavia to drag me to solitary, and it was all gone again when I got back to you. I’d kind of figured out by then that Shadow Weaver was doing something to your head, but we were like - eight. I didn’t understand.” She slid down the wall to sit next to Adora, running a hand up and down her back. 

Their old bunks flickered into place in front of them, but neither girl was feeling up to wandering around. Young Catra was sniffling in her blanket when Adora came running in. Their argument filtered in gradually for the older pair to hear. 

“Admit it!” little Catra yelled. “You love being her favorite!”

Adora frowned. “That’s not true!” she shouted back. 

“I was angry,” older Catra murmured, gripping Adora’s hand tight. “And scared. But I didn’t mean any of it. I knew you hated it there as much I did. I just didn’t understand what was going on with you. Why you changed all the time.”

Younger Catra hid herself in her blanket, crying harder. “Catra?” little Adora whispered, poking at the blanket. Catra whimpered. “Catra it’s okay, it’s just me,” the little blonde reassured. Eventually, the blanket opened up and Catra let Adora scoot in close, leaning up against her fur as a hesitant purr started up. “It doesn’t matter what they do to us, you know? You look out for me - and I look out for you. Nothing _really_ bad can happen as long as we have each other.”

“You promise?” Both Catras whispered.

“I promise.” Adora sighed.

The scene went dark one last time. “That was the first time we made that vow,” Catra murmured. “I believed you - never stopped. And we got out Adora. Because we protected each other. And no matter how you think you failed me back then, you didn’t. I _promise_.”

“Everything I thought was true about myself,” Adora said, sounding lost, “none of it’s real. Who I am, where I’m from, what I’m fighting for, none of it. Except you. And Shadow Weaver even made me forget some of you. How much of me is real? Who even am I?”

“You’re Adora,” Catra said firmly. “Etherian or First One, you’re still the loyal idiot I grew up with, the dummy who’d rather punch her feelings out than talk about them. You learned to talk about them for me, though. You care too much about everything, you have a nasty habit of being willing to sacrifice yourself for your friends, and sometimes you turn into a pretty cool magic warrior lady who’s covered in muscle,” she joked, making Adora chuckle a little bit. “You always came back for me - you never left me behind, even when they tried to take you away from me. You always know the right thing to do. _That’s_ who Adora is.”

Adora nodded, thinking deeply. “Thank you,” she eventually said, leaning against Catra’s shoulder. 

They were both quiet for a bit, letting the relief of perhaps the memories being done with wash over them. “You know,” Catra began, sounding just slightly mischievous, “I forgot how adorable you were as a little kid.”

It took a few seconds for what she’d just said to sink in, but then Adora was shoving Catra onto her back and attacking that one ticklish spot right above her left hip. “You! Are! The! _Worst_!” she shouted but couldn’t help laughing along to Catra’s giggles as she wriggled helplessly under Adora’s weight. “I thought you outgrew that!” She eventually relented and just lay down on top of Catra to feel the last vibrations of her giggling rumble through her chest. 

The calm was interrupted by the sounds of more spider bots screeching from all around. “Not again,” Catra groaned. She leapt away, landing on the nearest and beginning to tear at its cybernetic eyes. Adora stumbled to her feet and drew the sword.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” She transformed again and hacked away at any spiders that came near, but the onslaught didn’t diminish. Catra was thrown off her current spider and landed on all fours near Adora, hissing, her tail whipping back and forth. 

The brief moment Adora spent to check on Catra proved to be her downfall. A spider caught her in the side, sending her tumbling over a ledge that had _just_ appeared in the floor surrounding them. The sword plummeted into the pitch black below and Adora would have followed it if Catra hadn’t gotten both hands around one of her wrists at the last second. The jerking stop pulled at her shoulder and Adora grunted. 

“Adora!”

The entire structure shook around them like an earthquake, the spiders screeching as they fell over the edge and disappeared. More of the ceiling came crashing down around them. Catra cried out as one of her hands lost their grip on Adora and she dropped another inch. 

“Adora, pull yourself up!”

“You have to drop me,” Adora murmured, realizing. 

“ _WHAT_?! No!” Catra’s hand tightened on her wrist. “I’m not letting you go!”

Adora shook her head, resigned. “This is just going to keep happening until we die or until she thinks she’s won. Let me go, Catra. Get out of the Crystal Castle. I’ll be alright.” She hoped that it was the truth.

Catra’s eyes were wild, staring desperately into Adora’s in search of any hint that she was lying. “You come back to me,” she threatened before she shut her eyes and slowly let her fingers loosen around Adora’s arm. Adora made the final move to spare Catra any guilt, ripping her arm away and letting herself fall into the dark.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora truly deals with Light Hope for the first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the no show last week. Charger crapped out on me.

Either ten seconds or ten minutes passed before Adora hit solid ground with a grunt of pain. She took a moment to gather her wits before levering herself to her feet. The first thing she found was her sword, thank the First Ones, so that went back in its sheath. 

“Adora,” Light Hope flickered into existence in front of her.

Anger roared in Adora’s chest, but she held it in. Light Hope was her only access to the First Ones and the previous She-Ra’s. Maybe Madame Razz’ Mara _had_ lost it, but given every stunt Light Hope had pulled today and her reveal about the Woods concealing Adora from her, Adora wasn’t inclined to believe anything Light Hope said. But if she wanted to know more, she had to play nice. As much as she could manage, at least.

“She’s gone,” Adora muttered. “Just the way you meant it to happen. I’m alone. Are you happy now?”

“As She-Ra, you have a solemn duty to bring balance and restore order to this world. She is a - distraction.”

“No!” Adora shouted over Light Hope. So much for playing nice. “If I am truly She-Ra, then you were built and programmed to _help_ me. And what you need to understand is that isolating me is the quickest way to get me killed. I _need_ Catra. I need the others - by my side. If you want me to come back, to _train_ and be the best She-Ra and hero I can be, restore order like you keep insisting is so important, then we do it _my_ way.”

Light Hope flashed red briefly. “I advise extreme caution, Adora. You are displaying similarities to Mara before she became compromised and acted so drastically. However - I will acquiesce for the time being.”

Maybe acting like Mara wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, Adora mused. She’d just learned about her true existence today, but she was already starting to think she might have been in the right of whatever she’d done to strand them here in Despondos. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now - as administrator, I _want_ to be let out. Open the doors.”

\--

“ADORA!” Catra threw herself bodily at Adora, sending them both to the ground as Adora’s aching bones protested the mistreatment.

“Ugh,” Adora groaned painfully, hand pressed against her stomach. “Catra...that hurt.”

Catra just held her tighter for a long moment. “Sorry, but I was sure you were dead.”

“Come on, it was like, fifty feet at best,” Adora joked, running a hand through Catra’s mane. “Psh, I totally had it handled.” The unimpressed look Catra leveled her with had Adora backtracking pretty quick. “Okay yeah - it hurt. A lot. And Light Hope was down at the bottom just waiting for me, which I kind of expected.”

“What’d she have to say for herself?” Catra growled. 

Adora shrugged. There wasn’t really an answer to that. “You were right. She wanted to isolate me so that She-Ra wouldn’t be distracted.”

“How do you kill a sentient program?”

“I have no idea. Oh, but get this. Apparently the last She-Ra was Madam Razz’ Mara.”

Catra frowned immediately. “But Light Hope said the last She-Ra died over a thousand years ago.”

That held up Adora’s thought process. “Oh yeah. Huh - I’m not sure how that works, but it has to be the same Mara. Razz knows a lot more than she lets on.”

“You think she’s a thousand years old?”

“Wouldn’t put it past her.” There was one other critical piece of information Light Hope had let slip to Adora. “Light Hope also said she’d been watching me since I arrived through the portal as a baby, but that after we escaped the Horde, the Whispering Woods hid me from her. Even though they led me to the sword, the trees didn’t want her finding me.”

Catra’s brow furrowed and she scratched absently at her fur. “I mean, I’m not unhappy they did that, after getting to know the crazy hologram herself, but - why would they do that? What do they know?”

“They’ve been here since the beginning of Etheria. They’re magic, and they gave the sword to me. Maybe - maybe they remember Mara? Maybe they remember why she did what she did? Light Hope said she snapped but - I don’t know. I just don’t buy it after everything that happened today. I _need_ to know more about Mara. She somehow trapped the whole _world_ in an empty dimension. That’s why there’s no stars in the sky the way all the books say there should be. She broke the line of She-Ra for a millennium - why? If we’re supposed to be protectors, why wouldn’t she want us able to protect the universe? I have so many questions.”

“We’ll figure out the answers, Adora, just take a breath. Today was - a lot. Let’s just get home for now. We still have Shadow Weaver to deal with too.”

Adora groaned loudly. “I forgot about her.”

Catra chuckled, putting an arm around Adora’s shoulders and beginning to lead her toward the border of the forest. “I have a perfect plan.”

“I’m all ears.”

“We let someone else worry about Shadow Weaver for once. She’s imprisoned, she can’t get out, and without her connection to the Black Garnet, she’s a lot less powerful. Let someone else deal with her.”

Thinking it over, that sounded like the best thing Adora had heard in months. “You’re a genius,” she decided, pressing a firm kiss to Catra’s temple and causing a blush to creep onto her cheeks. “And the best, and I’m letting you come up with all plans from now on.”

“You’re such an idiot.”

\--

Bow and Glimmer had been frantic about their missing members of the Best Friend Squad by the time Catra and Adora finally made it back. Angella had promised the teenagers that Shadow Weaver would remain magically contained indefinitely and that she would personally see to everything in regards to the sorceress. Neither girl had to see her again - a scenario the queen preferred.

Once her mother was done berating them and giving Adora and Catra a tight hug and kiss on the top of the head each, Glimmer teleported the two exhausted girls and Bow to their bedroom, where Adora promptly laid down and pulled Catra with her by her waist. Catra let herself sink into Adora’s body, careful to avoid any of the bruises she’d seen earlier while they explained everything that had gone on in the Crystal Castle. Except for the memories. Those were theirs to hang onto and theirs alone.

Adora nuzzled into Catra’s mane of hair until she got to the shorter fur at the nape of her neck, making Catra shiver. “Catra told me to let someone else worry about Shadow Weaver for once, so for the sake of trying that, someone distract me until I fall asleep. Otherwise I’ll just dream about her and shove Catra out of the bed.”

“Seriously,” Catra complained. “You haven’t been punched until this dummy does it when she’s dreaming. She goes all out with her sleep-fighting.”

Bow perked up and pulled out his tablet. “You know that message we picked up from Alwyn a little while ago?”

It took Adora a minute to come up with the fractured holograms in her exhausted mind. “The ‘Serenia portal Mara’ message?” It clicked. “ _What_. Is with all the ‘portal’ talk lately?!” she griped, slapping a hand to her face. Catra hissed gently and moved her hand away, holding it to her own chest as she cuddled in closer.

“Well, while you and Catra were gone, Glimmer and I didn’t want to feel useless, so I - _may_ have taken her with me to my….dads’ place to -”

“Wait wait wait.” Catra jerked back to fully awake. “You have _dads_?? And you never _mentioned_ this Arrow Boy?

“I’m s-sure I did at one point,” Bow stuttered.

Adora hit her shoulder with the palm of her hand until Catra was laying down again. “I’m too tired to freak out about this - too much going on. I will later. Just - could they help?”

“Well, they can’t actually read First One’s writing fluently like you Adora, but they’ve worked out a lot over decades of research with the help of my older brothers.”

“ _Brothers_?!” Catra’s screech came out squeaky.

“Twelve of them,” Glimmer supplied oh so helpfully.

Catra about had an aneurysm before Adora patted her head obligingly. “Later,” Adora reminded her. “So what did they come up with? You wouldn’t have said anything if they didn’t.”

“Turns out Serenia is a mythical First One’s hero some think actually existed way back when. Portal and Mara are pretty easy to understand, especially with everything that happened today. What my dads figured out is that all those words you thought were too degraded to read Adora? Aren’t actually words at all, but constellations from the First One’s homeworld.”

“ _Stars_ ,” Adora whispered, holding the tablet so both she and Catra could see. “What we don’t have because Mara brought us to Despondos.”

Bow nodded. “Right! _But,_ Serenia used to be a constellation you could see even in Etheria in the summertime.”

“Only in the Crimson Waste though,” Glimmer finished. “ _Which_ apparently nobody’s ever been to and survived...but I’m sure we’ll be fine! We have She-Ra! And an assassin cat!”

“You do realize I’ve never actually killed anyone, right? It’s important to me that you know this,” Catra drawled.

“But you _could_ , and that’s what matters!” Glimmer said cheerfully. “If anyone can make sure we survive the Crimson Waste, it’s you two!”

Adora heaved a tired sigh. “Great. Thanks you guys. We’ll start planning for the Crimson Waste i-n,” she was interrupted by a yawn, “in the morning. I’ll...totally be…” she ended on a snore.

Catra rolled her eyes and pulled up the blanket to cover both of them. “Don’t slam the door on your way out,” she murmured, eyes already shut as she wiggled under Adora’s arm. “Or better yet, just teleport out of here.” There was only silence, and Catra cracked one eye open to find both their friends staring at them with almost literal hearts in their eyes. “Sparks, Arrows,” she said, voice deadly, “I am more than willing to make my kill count go from zero to two tonight if you don’t - _leave_ \- now.” 

Glimmer peeped and grabbed Bow, disappearing in a flash. _Princesses_ , Catra thought fondly. So easily spooked.

“Sleep, Cat,” Adora complained as Catra cuddled into her side, disturbing her for a moment.

“I am, Adora,” Catra promised. “You can sleep. I’m here.”

\--

Officially, the Crimson Waste sucked.

Three feet in, and Glimmer had already fallen into quicksand just for Adora to immediately forget the princess could teleport and dive in after her, forcing Glimmer to teleport _back_ in and retrieve her. Catra rolled her eyes. Her best friend was so _dumb_ sometimes. Besides all that nonsense, the constant wind blew sand into every single _inch_ of her fur, and it was going to take _days_ to comb out when they got back home, even with Adora’s help - Catra just knew it. 

The desert was nothing like the Whispering Woods’ cool, dark, welcoming interior, and Catra found herself longing for it more than she ever had. She and Adora were due for a visit when they got back to the Rebellion. The trees would be missing them anyway, and Razz always needed checking on. Catra hadn’t had one of her berry pies in _forever_ \- and now she was craving one. Great.

And to top it off, not only was the desert _not_ abandoned, but it was fully populated by gangs and most likely wanted criminals, who all seemed to have congregated in one tiny little bar. Lots of criminals, one bar. How could that possibly go wrong? Especially when Adora immediately spotted who was likely the most dangerous person in the room and made a beeline for her.

Catra narrowed her eyes at the way Adora stared at Huntara’s muscular arms as she beat up the satyr and lizard that had been bothering them. “Adora,” she sighed, “ _you_ turn into an eight foot tall woman who is literally muscle from head to toe. Could you _focus_?” She was absolutely not thinking about the little niggling feeling in her stomach that felt a lot like jealousy. There were much bigger things to concentrate on - like the fact that she was getting major vibes from Huntara that she was hiding something.

“We should ask her for help!” Adora trotted over, making Catra groan in annoyance. 

She hung back, watching the other three fawn over Huntara. After a few minutes, Catra saw Huntara give the satyr a tiny nod, and the other two left, setting off alarm bells in Catra’s head. This was a set up - everyone was a criminal here after all. 

Lunging forward, Catra snagged Adora by the wrist with a, “Can I talk to you?” and hauled her to a corner. She interrupted Adora’s surprised questions with a sharp look until they were in relative privacy. “I don’t like this,” she hissed. 

“Well she seems nice enough,” Adora shrugged.

“Yeah, except for the part where everyone here lives in a wasteland that outsiders never come to - or back from. We’re sitting ducks for an ambush and my bet is she’s going to be first in line. Look - I know you want to believe the best in everyone, and that’s great and all, but trust your Horde instincts for a second,” Catra coaxed. “What are they telling you?”

Adora took a moment and then sighed. “That it’s probably a set up,” she allowed. “It was a little too easy to get her help.”

“And those two women she ‘beat up’? They were definitely having a silent conversation afterward. You’re her next target.”

“So what do we do?”

Catra bit her lip, thinking quickly. She had to get Adora back over there before Huntara became suspicious. “You and I are going to have a fight,” she decided. “I’ll follow behind you, see if I can figure out what they’re planning.”

“By yourself?” Adora didn’t like that plan at all. Any of them by themselves in a desert with unknown amounts of people who might want to capture or kill them for their things was not her version of ideal, even less so when it was Catra by herself. “Can you at least take Bow with you?”

“I’ve already made it pretty clear to everyone here I’m not happy about what’s going on, so me disappearing won’t raise too many flags. If I suddenly take the guy who was thrilled to meet Huntara, they’ll start getting suspicious.” Adora agreed with that reluctantly. “Alright, I’m just going to bail out of here, you have to act mad at me. Can you do that?” Catra asked doubtfully.

Adora got an offended look on her face. “What? Psh, of course I can do tha- I probably can’t do that,” she admitted. 

“Of course you can’t.”

“Hey!”

“Go on then. Keep admiring Huntara’s arms while _I_ do the work.” Catra let some of her jealousy come to the fore, knowing she’d have to apologize later. Adora was glaring at her, arms crossed, the slightest look of hurt in her eyes. Catra lowered her voice to a whisper. “Now go over there and be mad at me.”

A bit of light reappeared in Adora’s eyes as she realized what Catra was doing, but she still seemed upset. “Fine. But I want an explanation later.” She stalked off to rejoin Bow and Glimmer while Catra did her best impression of storming outside, kicking a chair over and letting the door slam behind her for good measure.

“And won’t that be a fun conversation to have tonight?” Catra muttered to herself as she tracked the foursome, watching Adora kick at piles of sand and ignore Bow and Glimmer’s questions about her whereabouts. Apparently she’d decided that for the sake of her acting, trying to lie to their friends was out of the question. So she was choosing to be quiet. Catra felt bad even pretending she was mad at Adora, though she couldn’t deny she’d been feeling frustrated. _Not_ jealous. There was nothing to be jealous _of_. 

Adora was still freaked out over everything that had happened with Shadow Weaver and Light Hope just a few weeks ago, and now Catra hated the thought that she might be adding to it. She’d make it up to Adora when they got home, Catra decided. She’d even let Adora brush her hair.

If she could keep her from getting herself killed by her enthusiasm, that is.

\--

Catra found the satyr and lizard tracking her friends just as the sun was beginning to set. Her ears turned forward, the tip of her tail flicked, on alert. She stalked behind them - these two clearly hadn’t learned to move silently the way Catra had growing up in the Whispering Woods where giant predators were a constant threat. If her friends weren’t - _so_ loud and exuberant - they would have been caught in a moment.

As it was, their noises were enough to cover up Catra’s own movement along the sand dune above them. She prowled to the perfect spot, gathered herself, and leapt. 

The satyr went down without a sound, stunned and tied with her own whip in a matter of moments. The lizard never spoke, Catra had noticed, and now they backed against the dune, holding a staff nervously. Catra chuckled. “Bad manners,” she chided, “sneaking up on people like that. People might think you’re - up to something.” The lizard flicked their tongue, testing the waters. “Get your friend, and get out of my sight,” Catra snarled, “or I’ll find a nice patch of quicksand to drop the pair of you in. Got it?”

The lizard quickly gathered up the satyr woman and they limped away slowly. Catra resumed her stalking of her friends, waiting for the signal from Huntara. When it finally came, in the most _obvious_ place for an ambush ever - really, it was just sad, Catra scoffed internally - Catra was the only one to respond. “Oh!” she gasped playfully, hand over her mouth. Huntara growled, making Catra laugh. “Sorry, your friends were just so busy. They’re running a bit late. Guess you just get little old me tonight.” 

Huntara drew her staff as Catra unsheathed her claws, but before either of them could leap at each other, Adora had pulled her sword and transformed into She-Ra. Huntara froze, stunned by the appearance of the warrior. “You’re…” she whispered. “You’re She-Ra.” Catra got a closer look at Huntara’s staff. Sneaking up, she snatched it and bounced away behind Adora. “Hey! Give that!” Huntara snapped.

Catra turned the weapon over in her hands - it was familiar. “You were in the Horde,” she realized. 

“I ran years ago, when I saw what they were doing to the world,” Huntara answered solemnly, dropping her offensive stance. “I was raised in it, and I ran. And all I did was end up out here,” she sighed, “hurting people anyway.”

She-Ra shrank back down to Adora. “Us too,” she murmured. “We escaped a few years ago. What we’re looking for in the Waste - it might be a way to stop them. Or at least give us a shot. Please. Do you know what we’re looking for?”

“You’re Horde?”

“Just us two,” Catra said, tone short. She didn’t trust this lady yet, though she gave up the staff to Adora without much of a fight and didn’t protest when Adora gave it back to Huntara. “Are you gonna actually help us this time?”

Huntara dropped her head and laughed once. “Typical of me - shown up by Horde brats, and one of them is She-Ra. Amazing. Yeah, kids,” she sighed. “I’ll take you to the ship.”

Wait.

“It’s a _ship_?” Adora asked.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora's first 'interaction' with Mara, finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon-wise we're approaching the end of S3 and the kids are seventeen-ish, now, in case anyone was wondering.

In all of Light Hope’s warnings about Mara, there had been an image of a ship. Always crashing. Adora hadn’t paid it much mind, but the ship in front of her was definitely the one she’d seen in the Crystal Castle. “I can’t believe I’m standing in front of Mara’s ship.”

“I don’t know who Mara is, but that’s the ship that has your name on it,” Huntara said.

“Wait, my name?” “ _Her_ name?” Adora and Catra asked at the same time.

Huntara shot them a look. “Not _Adora_. She-Ra.”

“Forget all that!” Bow exclaimed. “This thing used to travel through _space_. It’s a First One’s ship! It’s going to have data, _logs_ , maps, First One’s _food_!”

When Huntara led them inside, Bow was not the only one disappointed. “Or it could be an empty bunch of nothing,” Catra growled. “ _Why_ did we come out here again?”

But Adora wasn’t so willing to give up. “No, this can’t be it. Where would the message have come from then? There has to be more. Mara _had_ to have left more for me to find.”

“Has the ship always been here?” Glimmer asked.

“Given Mara died a thousand years ago, I’m gonna go with yes,” Catra snarked, searching the wall next to Adora for any clues nonetheless.

Huntara scratched at the back of her neck. “The Crimson Waste was hit with the mother of all dust storms about ten years ago. When it finally calmed down, this was left in its wake.”

“And then people stole everything,” Bow muttered, still offended by missing out on all the cool First One’s tech.

“Well, yeah. Until people started saying it was haunted. Sometimes there’s this voice -”

_She-Ra. Etheria. Gone._

Glimmer yelped and teleported into Bow’s arms, who didn’t look any less scared. Catra squeaked and immediately played it off like she’d never made a noise at all, casually leaning against the wall of the ship. Adora frowned, scanning the walls for any opening that she had missed.

“Yep, that’s the one. And that’s how I learned the name She-Ra,” Huntara noted.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Adora muttered. “Why have a ship so big for a room so tiny? Where would people sleep, where’s the engine room, where are the controls? There has to be more than this.” She groaned, running her hands through her hair frustratedly. Opening her eyes, engravings on the floor caught her attention. “Wait,” she murmured, drawing her sword thoughtfully.

Catra came up to her side. “What are you thinking?” she asked, attitude fading.

“This is -” Adora shifted the sword into the shield that had protected her and Catra in the Crystal Castle not too long ago. The carvings in the metal floor lit up purple in response to the shield’s presence, and then the entire ship began to react. An image of She-Ra appeared on one of the walls before it parted to form an entrance. “Wow,” Adora said, smiling down at her sword. “Magic still gets to me, even after everything.”

“That one looked more like tech, but I get your point,” Catra agreed. “The First Ones really knew how to combine the two didn’t they?”

“Makes you wonder why they left.”

_She-Ra. Etheria. Gone_. 

The voice spoke again, interrupting them. “That has to be Mara,” Adora realized. “Maybe she left another message!”

“And what exactly do we hope she left us in that message, Adora?” Glimmer asked. “I mean - she’s been gone for a thousand years. She wouldn’t have known anything about Hordak, or the Horde, or how to stop him. Not that this isn’t important!” she rushed to say when Bow and Catra both gave her a ‘look’. 

“At this point, anything that might shed some light on She-Ra for Adora that _doesn’t_ come from that crazy hologram is going to be useful,” Catra growled. “She may just be a computer program, but she’s _hiding_ something. And she tried to kill me! _Several_ times.”

“Catra is right,” Adora chimed in, moving through the darkened entrance. “There’s too much I don’t know. And we know Mara brought us to this dimension by a portal, and that opening up another one could destroy all of Etheria. Maybe there’s something here that will help us shut down whatever Hordak is using to make one. We have to at least try.”

Glimmer sighed. “No no. You’re right.” She followed the rest of them into the newly opened up room.

_Here_ was the control room Adora had been looking for earlier. “Whoa,” she whispered, eyes wide as they scanned the entire room. In the center was what looked like a captain’s chair, a large viewing window taking up almost the entire front wall of the hull. 

Bow plopped down into the chair and accidentally activated a program. “Look at this!” he exclaimed. “It’s the message again.”

Adora was more focused on the wavering hologram that had appeared when Bow activated the console. Catra came up beside her, keeping an eye on it too. “What is it?”

The image suddenly clarified.

“ _Mara_ ,” Adora breathed. 

The image turned as if she had heard Adora, looking straight through them. “I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria,” she said. “And I am gone.”

There was a moment of silence. “Is she - like Light Hope or is she more the images from Alwyn?” Catra asked.

Adora had looked like she was about to start spouting questions at the image of Mara, but she hesitated at Catra’s words. “I -” She took a closer look and sighed. “It isn’t really her.” As if to prove Adora right, the hologram glitched out before reappearing and repeating its message. Adora’s shoulders slumped in disappointment and a wry chuckle escaped her. “I don’t know why I expected to get any answers,” she muttered sardonically. “Why I thought that just this _once,_ someone would _help_ me.”

“Adora?” Glimmer asked, unsure.

“Of course it’s on a loop!” Adora shouted. “Why would a hologram that’s _designed_ to assist me with all this ever _actually_ assist me? I do everything they ask, and nothing!” She jerked back to face the image of Mara again. “Why am I here? _Why_ was I taken from my homeworld? Why did you turn me into just another one of your soldiers?! Why did you let them hurt us, and then lead us out here just for it to be yet another dead end?” Adora stormed through the hologram and slammed her fist down onto the control board, putting a slight dent in the metal.

Catra wanted to help Adora somehow, but she didn’t understand more than anyone else did. She-Ra was Adora’s alone - no one could help except people from the long past who seemed determined to do anything but. If it was frustrating for Catra, it had to be tearing Adora up from the inside, and it made Catra hurt for her best friend.

Another, smaller hologram flickered into existence over the controls, catching Adora’s eye. She brushed aside Bow’s comforting platitude as she investigated the slot the image seemed to indicate was designed for her sword to slide into. Still angry, she drew her sword and wordlessly placed it into the slot.

The entire ship immediately lit up as the hologram of Mara disappeared, only to be replaced by another one in the captain’s chair. Only - this image was just Mara. Not She-Ra. And she was _crying_. Adora inched closer, anger forgotten, as Mara tapped commands into the console on the chair, holding bandaged ribs. 

“I don’t have much time. I barely made it out,” Mara told them. Her image wavered in and out, but her voice rang through clear. “If you are seeing this, it means you wield the sword. You are the new She-Ra.” It was a recorded message, not a hologram. 

Adora approached more confidently, getting as close as she could so as not to miss any details of the message. “It means I failed,” Mara sighed. “I was supposed to be the last. And I am so, so sorry.” Catra took Adora’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Adora smiled at her best friend gratefully.

“I don’t know what Light Hope told you, but it wasn’t all bad at first,” Mara continued. “We were the first ones to settle Etheria - to really study this planet’s magic.” She sighed, looking distant. “How could it go so wrong?” The glitching suddenly got worse, the words starting to become garbled. “Light Hope use the - Can’t - Weapon - The weapon - weapon.”

“What weapon?” Adora asked, frustrated. “Bow can you fix it?”

Bow looked up from where he was already elbow deep, figuratively, in the computer of the ship. “I’m trying, but I think it’s messed up from when the ship crashed. The programming’s fried. I don’t think there’s anything I can do.”

Mara’s voice cleared up some. “I opened a portal to a completely empty dimension and pulled Etheria in. I hid us from the rest of the universe to keep everyone _safe_ . This is the one place they’ll never find us.” She looked up, and Adora almost felt like Mara could actually _see_ her, and was begging for her to understand. “I saw what they would _do_. The deaths that would follow. I couldn’t stop them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option!” Mara slumped against the back of the chair. “Maybe it’s been a week,” she murmured. “Maybe it’s been thousands of years and I bought you enough time to figure all of this out. I never wanted to be a hero. I certainly won’t be remembered as one.” An alarm went off behind Mara, and it seemed to galvanize her from her sadness, focus her. “You have the sword now. It is the Administrator Key to our planet.”

“The what now?” Catra muttered. Honestly, magic and First One’s tech coming into their lives had made everything so much more complicated than it used to be. 

“With it, you can activate a portal. They might ask that of you. So, I’m begging you: don’t do it! Leave us here. If you open a portal, death and destruction will follow. For the good of the universe, Etheria _must_ remain in Despondos! If not, everyone - the whole universe - will -” The message shut off before Mara could get her last words out and the entire ship went dark.

Adora fell to her knees, staring at where Mara had been sitting moments ago. “Adora?” Catra asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“They - what were they doing to the planet?” Adora whispered. “What could have been so bad that Mara felt like the entire universe was in danger and the only thing to do was lock us in this dimension all alone? They’re - they’re my people, and what did they do?”

“They aren’t _your_ people, Adora. You’re Etherian in every way that matters,” Catra insisted. “And whatever they did, Mara saved us from it.”

“And we have to stop Hordak from erasing everything she sacrificed to save us - keep him from opening up another portal,” Adora decided.

Catra sighed. “Another trip to the Fright Zone. Super.”

“At least Shadow Weaver is imprisoned at Brightmoon now so...that’s good?” Bow said, trying to be positive. 

“That will help,” Adora allowed. “But it still won’t be enough. The stories they would tell us about Hordak when we were kids, he - they weren’t good.”

Catra tapped her chin, thinking. “Maybe we can track down Scorpia when we get there?” she suggested. “If we told her the planet was in danger she’d totally help us out.”

“She’s _your_ friend,” Adora gave her a half grin. “You’d have to come with me.”

“As if I wasn’t already going with you, dummy.”

Adora shrugged. “Yeah, well. Never hurts to check. One Fright Zone invasion, coming right up.”

* * *

Walking back into the Fright Zone - willingly, this time - was not something Adora had pictured herself doing anytime soon after what happened the last time. But Shadow Weaver wasn’t there anymore she kept reminding herself, gripping Catra’s hand tightly. She was in Brightmoon and couldn’t hurt them again. And Glimmer and Bow knew to confess everything to Angella if Adora didn’t contact them in the next few hours.

Catra broke into her thoughts with a nudging elbow. “Hey. Two guards up there,” she pointed at the walkway on the top of the outer wall. 

“Yeah, I see them.” They ducked behind some bot debris, Adora peeking over the top. “Can you climb that?” The metal looked solid - not a lot of cracks to hang on to.

“Psh, like you have to ask,” Catra scoffed. She took off before Adora could protest, darting between destroyed parts of machinery and avoiding the gaze of the guard. She leapt onto the base of the wall, climbing with apparent ease. 

Adora watched her disappear over the top ledge, and a moment later, the first guard went tumbling off the side to crash into the dirt. She closed the distance to the wall, making sure she was unconscious and dragging her off behind some debris. As she straightened, the second guard was thrown over. He let out a yell of fear before he went soaring into the ground. Adora put him with the other guard while Catra gracefully landed on all fours and trotted over. 

“Think we can still pull off the uniform?” Catra looked down at the two guards skeptically.

“Only one way to find out.” They stripped the soldiers out of their gear and struggled to put it on. Catra was already grimacing and tugging at the high collar by the time Adora had finished snapping on the jacket. “It’s only going to get worse when we put these on. Just be grateful I’m not making you wear the boots too,” Adora teased, tossing her one of the helmets. 

Catra glared at the last piece of equipment. “Don’t ever say I don’t do anything nice for you,” she grumbled.

Adora chuckled and slid on the helmet. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The uniform allowed them the ease of waltzing in through the border gate, the guard on duty hardly looking up from his tablet as they entered. They got inside the main building of the base, but after that everything was kind of a maze. “So I remember where our bunks were, the caf, and the Black Garnet room, but that’s it,” Catra murmured in her ear. 

“I know where Shadow Weaver’s office is,” Adora shrugged. “It’s been six years for me too. Maybe Scorpia is in the Force Captain’s Quarters? Where are those?”

“Hey! Why are you two cadets not on duty?” a higher ranking guard than the uniforms they were wearing demanded. “Who’s your commanding officer?”

Catra froze, panicked. Should she fight or should she run? 

“Uh, we were shifted to Force Captain Scorpia’s squad this afternoon, sir! Told to report in, but we can’t locate her. Sir!” Adora spluttered, placing a subtle hand on Catra’s side to try and calm her down. 

The guard sighed, shaking his head. “Scorpia is always bouncing from one place to the next,” he muttered. “Alright, you two. Head past the cafeteria, two t-sections, down past the cell block, first door on your right is the Force Captains’ Quarters. She should be in her bunk by now.”

“Yes, sir, thank you sir!” Adora gave him a smart salute, elbowed Catra until she copied her, and set off the way they’d been directed. “You alright?” she whispered to Catra once they were out of earshot.

“Mmhm,” Catra hummed, still sounding uneasy. “Just - getting yelled at - not the yelling, but the way he did it, like you’re always late and always in trouble - just bad memories, you know?” she tried to explain.

Adora sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I know. Not used to getting ordered around anymore, or being treated like I’m nothing. I’ve had too much time with just you to show me different.”

Even through the helmet, Adora could see Catra blushing furiously. “Yeah, well. It’s not because I like you or anything,” she muttered, glancing down. In direct opposition to her words, Catra’s tail slipped around Adora’s wrist and rubbed up and down. 

“Oh, face it. You totally like me,” Adora teased, looping an arm around Catra’s neck and tugging her down in the best approximation of a noogie she could manage while Catra was wearing a helmet.

“Hey! Get off!” Catra squeaked, shoving at Adora’s waist in vain. Adora had always been stronger, even before She-Ra, and it just seemed like she’d gained muscle since. “Let me go!” She finally wriggled free and stuck her tongue out at Adora, leaving just the helmet in Adora’s hands.

Adora giggled quietly and tossed it back, checking the intersection of halls for any soldiers before waving Catra forward. “Come on grumpy.” Catra grumbled but followed along behind. 

Luckily, Scorpia was exactly where the soldier said she would be, humming lightly as she messily folded some uniforms, groaned, and tried again. Several times. “Oh, hey guys!” she said cheerily when she spotted them. “You lost?”

“Force Captain Scorpia, ma’am!” Adora saluted.

“Oh man, there’s no need to call me ma’am, wow. That’s real official of you, aren’t you cute!” Scorpia patted Adora on the helmet gingerly with her pincer. “Um, who are you two, exactly?”

“We’re the new members of your squad Force Captain,” Catra lied. “We were sent to fetch you.”

Scorpia grinned and shrugged. “Two new pals, that’s just great,” she said excitedly. “Well come on then - to uh, wherever it is we’re going! Lead the way!”

One of the benefits of being Force Captain, apparently, was they got their own rooms. Catra shut the door and locked it. “Scorpia, it’s us!” Adora hissed, yanking off her helmet. 

“Oh, wow, hi friends!” Scorpia waved. “What are you all doing here in the Fright Zone? It really isn’t the best place for you two to be, you know,” she told both of them as Catra tugged off her own helmet. “Last time was not awesome, let me tell ya. I mean, it all worked out - well, you know that, but -”

“Scorpia!” Catra abruptly pulled her attention back to them. “Look - Hordak is up to something.”

Scorpia clicked her pincers together thoughtfully. “Well, there is the war and all.”

Adora shook her head. “No, Scorpia. Bigger than that. Shadow Weaver escaped to Brightmoon and she said Hordak is trying to build a portal. To bring more Horde armies to Etheria and crush it once and for all.”

“Oh, yeah the portal! I know all about that.”

“Y-You do?”

“Sure, they covered that in Force Captain Orientation - right. Still not Force Captains, I knew that,” Scorpia chuckled. “Well, he’s been looking for First Ones’ tech for ages - I don’t know why exactly. But I’ve been sent on all kinds of weird retrieval missions with Lonnie and her boys lately for their tech.”

Adora frowned. “They left a thousand years ago, why would their tech be any better at opening portals than his?” she wondered. “Maybe because they were the last to succeed? But that still - and Entrapta told us that opening any portal could cause the planet’s destruction when we visited her last week. She definitely said that - so why would the First One’s have the tech needed for -”

“Adora.” 

Catra’s suddenly frightened voice pulled Adora from her planning. “What is it?”

“Your sword. Mara said it was the ‘Administrator Key’. We didn’t know what that meant.”

“Yeah, so?”

“She said _you_ had the ability to open portals, Adora. It’s the _sword_. That’s how Mara opened the portal a thousand years ago - the sword!” Catra’s tail was ramrod straight, her eyes wide. “Hordak could never do it before, it was never stable, and he’s figured out that he needs some kind of First One’s technology. And with She-Ra’s sword, he could open a portal anywhere he wants, and take down the whole world with him.”

Adora looked down at her gauntlet and placed her hand over it protectively. “And we brought it right to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week is the portal guys.


	12. Chapter 12

In the middle of brainstorming a plan, mostly with Catra - Scorpia knew a lot about the Horde but was _not_ the best at staying focused and coming up with plans - pounding feet sounded outside in the corridor. “Over here!” a voice commanded.

Adora’s hackles raised. There was only one thing they could be after. “How did they find us?” she demanded.

“I don’t know!” Catra hissed, looking alarmed. “We didn’t set off any alerts on our way in, and Scorpia certainly didn’t have time to.”

“Oh, they are definitely headed this way, aren’t they?” Scorpia noted. 

The door burst open and numerous high ranking Horde soldiers poured in. “Arrest the Force Captain and grab the intruders!” Adora drew her sword but knew she wouldn’t be able to transform before she was shocked unconscious by the stun batons. Scorpia was shackled moments later without a fight, talking about them all being colleagues and other nonsense even as she was pulled from the room. “Hordak wants to deal with these two personally,” the same captain ordered.

“Adora?” Catra asked worriedly as three soldiers surrounded her. Normally she’d be able to run circles around them, but the tiny room was filling up fast and she didn’t have the room to maneuver the way she’d like. Adora turned her back on the soldiers facing off with her to level the men attacking Catra. The sting of electricity thrust into her back jarred through her system, threatening to bring her to her knees. “Adora!” 

More soldiers had joined the fight, shocking and dragging Adora out into the hall as Catra was newly corralled. Her muscles were shivering and it felt like her lungs weren’t cooperating. Drawing in the smallest breaths was a struggle. Adora stumbled to her knees, her arms harshly pulled behind her back and restrained as Catra was hauled out, biting and clawing at any flesh she could find. She was shoved to her knees beside Adora just in time for Adora to keel over, finally blacking out.

“Adora!”

* * *

Regaining consciousness was a slow, painful process. “Adora!” Catra hissed, motivating Adora to force her eyes open. 

“How good of you to join us, Cadet, as I _finally_ reclaim my position at Horde Prime’s side,” Hordak reveled. He was standing by a lever, a little baby devil looking thing perched on his shoulder. She-Ra’s sword was wired into the machinery somehow - Adora wished Entrapta was there to explain things if nothing else. She could make sense of all this.

Adora glared at him, tugging on the cuffs that kept her bound to the wall. “How did you know we were here?” 

The baby opened its mouth wide. _‘...with She-Ra’s sword, he could open up a portal anywhere he wants_ …’ Catra’s voice reverberated mechanically around the room.

“That’s just creepy,” Catra muttered barely loud enough for Adora to hear.

“You did very well, Imp,” Hordak praised, setting the little demon on a workbench. “I am always listening, She-Ra. You should have known better than to plot within my walls. And now, thanks to you, I have the means of finally escaping this backwater planet!”

Adora jerked on her cuffs, trying in vain to reach Hordak. “You’re wrong,” she told him grimly. “You pull that lever, and the whole planet gets destroyed - even you.”

“Yeah, _nobody_ wins that war, Hordak,” Catra snipped. “And Horde Prime? What even is that? You eager to run back home to dad or something?” Hordak snarled and snapped his fingers. A zone of red light appeared around Catra, who after a moment, began choking for air. 

“Stop!” Adora screamed. “Stop it, _stop_!” Catra collapsed to her knees as the light disappeared, gasping in air. Adora worked at the cuffs harder - she could feel one side weakening. Just a few seconds more…

Hordak stalked over to peer at Catra. “Know that you will live a brief moment longer _only_ because I wish you - the greatest failures of my reign here - to witness my greatest triumph,” he mused. “The She-Ra will be my gift to Horde Prime, and ensure me a place at his side for eternity. You,” he sniffed, “well. There is always a place on the front lines for you to die.” He turned back to the dais.

“If you activate the portal, we will _all_ die,” Adora warned him. Almost _there_. “You don’t _understand_. The sword isn’t meant to be used that way anymore! We’re here in Despondos for a reason!”

“I grow tired of your needless chatter.” Hordak’s hand reached for the lever as all the princesses of the alliance plus - Shadow Weaver? - teleported into the lab. Hordak grasped the lever and pulled.

“No, DON’T!” Adora yelled, finally yanking free with no time to stop Hordak and instead throwing herself in front of Catra in a last ditch effort to protect her.

The world went white around them.

...

Adora woke with a start next to a rumbling Catra. Sighing in relief, she clapped her hands over her eyes and took a second to draw herself back to the real world. “Craziest dream,” she muttered, rolling over. Adora let her hand run through Catra’s mane, gently waking her best friend. “Hey, c’mon sleepyhead,” she teased. Catra blinked one eye open grumpily with an upset ‘mrrp’. “Wait until you hear about the dream I had. We hung out with _princesses_. And I was _magical_.”

The second eye joined Catra’s first, alarmed. “You too?” Adora paused, confused, but then Catra grinned. “I’m just messing with you,” she said, crawling on top of Adora to plop down on her chest. “Can’t you sleep in just _once_? It wouldn’t kill you to not see the sunrise for one day. I promise the trees will forgive you.”

“There’s so much to do today,” Adora murmured, scratching at the fur between Catra’s shoulder blades absentmindedly. “Winter will be here in just a few weeks and we still have to store up food, make a visit to Thaymor, and I want to make sure Razz is settled in too.”

“It _has_ been a while,” Catra realized. 

That dream wouldn’t get out of Adora’s head. It had felt so _real_. And yet...she couldn’t help but feel like there was something she was forgetting. Something important -

“-dora? Adora!” A palm smacked her on the forehead, startling Adora back to the present. “Hey, where’d you go?” Catra asked, concerned. “Your dream bothering you that much?”

“It’s nothing,” Adora decided, shaking her head. “Just my dumb brain making things up.”

Catra laughed and rubbed up under Adora’s chin. “You said it - not me. Was it good at least?”

“Some of it. But some of it was awful. Shadow Weaver and Hordak and magic and - something else. But you were there with me, so I knew everything would be okay.”

That made Catra blush and quickly press a kiss to Adora’s cheek and dart over to their clothes for the day. “I’d better have been there. No having fun without me, even in your dreams,” she instructed, tugging on her shirt. Adora’s mind flashed to a skin tight suit like what Catra had worn in the Horde, but she was older in it. Adora shook her head again. Just a dream, she reminded herself. “At least you didn’t wake me up with all your punching and kicking this time,” Catra continued. “Keep doing that and we’re getting separate pallets.”

Adora hooked an arm around Catra’s neck and dragged her down to dig her fist into the top of Catra’s head. Catra squealed and tried to escape the noogie, but Adora held fast. “But you’d get cold without me,” Adora teased as Catra hissed and squirmed.

“Not my fault you’re like the Fright Zone furnaces,” she mumbled when Adora finally deigned to let her go. “You go make sure Razz is all set. I’ll get us some more food, and we can go to Thaymor later. Yeah?”

“Sounds good.” Adora kissed Catra’s temple and slung herself out of their tree hut, disappearing into the forest with ease.

“Show off,” Catra called after her, conveniently forgetting she swung and leaped from branch to branch all day every day.

* * *

Razz wasn’t in her hut.

That was - not unusual, but a little out of the ordinary this close to winter. Razz may have been a little kooky, but even she stuck close to her house when the cold began to set in. “Razz?” Adora called, looking around. She caught a glimpse of bright pink wandering between trees and set off in that direction. “Razz!” Something in the corner of her eye pulled her attention. The sky - that wasn’t the right color. Was it? It _definitely_ should be blue. 

“Mara dearie!” Razz ran right by Adora and disappeared.

“Wait! Razz stop!” Adora took off after her - and stopped short right in front of her and Catra’s house. “What the…”

A hand clapped down on her shoulder, making Adora squeak. “Woah!” Catra backed off, hands up. “It’s just me Adora. Are you okay?”

“I just - things are weird, right? It’s not just me?”

“I mean,” Catra sat and scratched at her ear with her back leg, “Thaymor isn’t where it’s supposed to be so I would define that as _weird_ , yeah.”

It took a second for that to make sense in Adora’s head. “Wait - Thaymor is _gone?_ ”

“Yep. And now that you mention it...why is the sky glitching out like a tablet? Isn’t it normally blue or pinkish?”

Adora nodded, looking left and right, still trying to figure out how she’d gotten home. “I don’t know how I got here. One second I was at Razz’ place, then she’s vanishing in front of me and I’m back here. How did I get here? There’s something I’m forgetting - something I was supposed to fix…”

“What happened to the stars?” Razz’ voice came as if from far away, causing Adora to spin around and search for her.

Catra grabbed her and turned her back. “Adora? What is going on with you? Are you okay? Did you hit your head again - are you brain damaged?”

Adora shoved her off, forcing a chuckle. “I am _not_ brain damaged, for the last time. But something _is_ wrong,” she insisted. “Thaymor disappearing, Razz is wandering around, and _why_ did my dream last night feel more real than this does right now?”

“Alright,” Catra said calmly, toning everything down for Adora and helping her make the world go quiet in the way only Catra could for her. “What happened in the dream?”

“We were -” Adora tried to remember. “We were in the Fright Zone?” The world glitched around them and suddenly they were both inside the Horde base. Catra and Adora yelped and grabbed each others’ hand.

Catra nodded rapidly, swallowing hard. “Okay yeah. Something’s wrong.”

“Friends!” Two large, pincered arms picked them both up and held them in a tight cradling hug that threatened to suffocate both of them. “Who are you? Because I feel like we’re really awesome pals but now I’m thinking about it and I just am not placing your faces.” The woman set them down and took a good long look at their faces. “Yeah it is not coming to me,” she said, not sounding at all upset about it. “I don’t know what it is, but I just - _really_ like you two. It’s like a gut feeling, I have.”

Adora and Catra both stared up at the strange, happy woman, with no idea what to make of her. Catra could swear she - “Scorpia?” she asked hesitantly. Was that her name?

“Yes, Catra?” A pause. “Oh! Catra! And Adora! I remember you now! Oh wow, where are we; this is not good, uh uh.”

The world glitched again, putting them in a random hallway of the base. “Okay, everyone saw that right?” Adora demanded. “It’s not just me anymore?”

“Yeah, but what do we do about it Adora?” Catra asked.

Adora couldn’t - she was forgetting something. Something Razz was hinting at before she disappeared. “There’s something I have to do - something I was supposed to fix.”

“You keep saying that Adora. What’re you supposed to fix?” Catra took her hand, leaning into her arm. “Do you mean you think your dream was real? Whatever happened in your dream is what needs to be fixed now?”

“It was -” Adora looked down the halls, reaching for the memory. “The princesses - we worked with them. We lived in Bright Moon. They’re our _friends_.”

“We’re friends with _princesses_?” Catra sounded skeptical at best. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Scorpia tip toed back into the conversation. “I’m a princess technically.”

“We know Scorpia,” Adora and Catra answered at the same time. “It’s something to do with Hordak,” Adora continued. “We have to get to his sanctum. Scorpia can you get us there?”

Everything glitched again.

“Okay. _How_ did we get here?!” Scorpia yelled, eyes shooting around the entrance to Hordak’s lab. 

“That doesn’t matter,” Catra dismissed. “You said we needed to be here, Adora - we’re here. What now?”

“Getting past those guards.” 

Scorpia grabbed them both before they could jump the guards. “Hey!” she whisper yelled. “I am _so_ going to get fired if you do that - it’s basic Force Captain Orientation stuff! You can’t go in there!”

Glitch.

“Okay, _where_ did they go?” Scorpia complained, alone in the hallway.

…

“Quick before it disappears again!” Adora waved Catra on and they rushed into the sanctum, skidding to a halt. “No. No this isn’t right.” A memory of a sword in the middle of a portal flashed across Adora’s mind. “It’s - it’s supposed to be here. Hordak, he -”

Catra snagged her hand and pulled Adora back to herself. “Adora, _what_ are you talking about? What should be here?”

“The sword. _My_ sword. It should have been here, it’s where - the portal! _That’s_ what I have to fix!” A little baby demon popped out of nowhere and chittered at them, scaring the girls out of the room just before the portal glitched into existence and swallowed him up. “We have to get out of the Fright Zone,” Adora realized. “There’s something - wrong with time and space. Do you feel that?” It was like a tearing at her insides, a wrongness that she could feel. Etheria was crying out for help.

“I can’t feel anything, but even I know people shouldn’t just disappear.”

More of the Fright Zone began to fade, chasing the girls towards the outer rim of the base. Adora caught sight of Razz’ pink cloak and tripped to a halt, nearly knocking Catra over in her haste to turn. “Razz!” she yelled, taking off after her. “Razz wait!”

“Hello Mara dearie,” Razz said cheerily in that absent way of hers. 

“Razz. What’s going on?” Adora begged. “What are you doing in the Fright Zone? Is all this really happening?”

A sad look that Adora only ever saw on Razz’ face when she realized she was talking to Adora and not Mara appeared. “I’m afraid so, dearie. But! Now is finally the time for Adora! There is still time to fix this! Find me in the Woods dearie!”

“Adora! Catra!” Lonnie ran up at them out of nowhere, and in the second they were distracted, Razz disappeared. All of the Fright Zone had started to crumble around them as they spoke with Razz, the purple and white of the portal overtaking everything. “What are y’all doing here?”

“ _Lonnie_??” both teens spluttered. First of all, Lonnie still recognized them? A flash of Thaymor, a battle, and Lonnie letting her go came to Adora. Oh. “We’ve gotta get out of here Lonnie.” 

The burning portal bit into the ground behind them, sending them scattering. Lonnie was gone the next time Adora looked back, so she just grabbed Catra’s hand and urged her on faster as they raced to the skiff hangar for the third time in their lives. “Third time’s the charm,” Catra muttered, apparently having recovered some of her own memories. She steered them out and away towards the Whispering Woods as the Fright Zone crumbled into the portal.

Adora thought they’d made it far enough away, but a last glitch seemed to slice through the skiff, sending the two girls flying out of the ship and into the dirt. Catra whined as her claws caught in the hard ground and Adora tumbled in a roll. Hands tugged at Adora’s shirt and Catra got her to her feet and stumbling away from the portal’s abyss. “Come on, Adora,” she grunted. “Get moving.”

“I don’t - I don’t know how to fix this,” Adora stuttered. “My sword. It was the sword. It’s mine? I don’t know. The sword - it activated the portal! That’s why I needed to go to the Fright Zone. To find it, but it wasn’t there!”

“And everything before? That wasn’t real? Us, the Woods, being together - or are we still trapped and fighting in the Horde? Was any of our life true?” Catra’s voice wavered, though she would never admit to it.

Adora paused, looking stricken, before launching herself at Catra and pulling her into a fierce hug. Catra responded hesitantly. “ _Yes_ ,” Adora whispered, firm. “We’ve _always_ been together Cat.” The memories were clearer now, and while everything may have been the slightest bit off in this ‘perfect’ world, Adora knew this much was true. “We ran away, remember? It’s always been you and me. And now we have more friends who care about us, but it’s always _going to be_ you and me okay?”

“Okay,” Catra murmured, allowing the reassurance to sink in and comfort her.

A tearing beneath their feet ended their embrace. Adora fell to her knees as Catra stumbled backward. The abyss that was the portal eating up the world from the Fright Zone had inched closer as they spoke, and wasn’t far behind Catra now. The ground opened up between Adora and Catra, separating them quickly as a chasm grew. “Catra!” Adora screamed, reaching out in vain. 

Catra was on all fours, looking frantically about for some escape. The little ground left for her to stand on was surrounded on all sides by warping white purple light, and it was quickly disappearing. Catra met Adora’s eyes one last time before her island crumpled and sent her plummeting into the abyss. 

“ _NO, CATRA_!”

She couldn’t stay. The portal was still hungry, still looking to eat the rest of Etheria, no matter that it’d just stolen the most important part of Adora’s life. Adora tripped away, running into the brief safety of the Whispering Woods before she allowed herself to collapse to her knees and lose herself to sobs. The Woods were _screaming_ , but she couldn’t focus on them.

“Mara, dearie, you have to get up. There is still time to fix this!” Razz’ little warbling voice interrupted Adora’s tears.

“It’s just Adora, Razz,” Adora sniffed. “It’s never been Mara.”

“Oh, Mara - you made it after all. It’s been such a long time since we saw each other, hasn’t it Mara dearie?” Razz cupped Adora’s cheek tenderly, tears in the corners of her eyes. “Or - it hasn’t happened yet. I’m always getting those two mixed up.”

Adora chuckled wetly. “Yeah,” she agreed. “It’s okay though Razz. I’m sure Mara misses you too. I’m sorry I couldn’t save her. Or anyone else. I couldn’t save Catra.”

“It’s not too late dearie. You can still save them all. But only if you act quickly.”

“I can? How? How do you know?”

Razz started to get more lively as she remembered the past. “Because this has all happened before! I remember like it was yesterday - always it is yesterday for Madam Razz…”

“Yesterday...with Mara? Did this happen to Mara?” Adora asked urgently.

“Yes, yes! Yes with Mara! When she moved Etheria away from the stars. Whoo! It was _crazy_ ,” Razz huffed.

Adora hung her head. “Light Hope told me Mara almost destroyed the world, and that I was falling down her same path. I’ve been so scared that she was right. But she wasn't, was she? Light Hope lied to me.”

“Destroy the world?” Razz scoffed. “No. Mara _saved_ the world, and so can you. You can save everyone, including your little friend, dearie. But only if you hurry. Go back to the beginning. Find the sword. That is the only way this will stop!”

“The beginning?” Adora tried to think about what that could mean. “My beginning? The sword’s? What are you talking about, I don’t understand.” 

The portal was beginning to eat up the outer edges of the Whispering Woods. Adora could _feel_ their malcontent and disdain for the foreign magic tearing at them, but they couldn’t stand against it.

“You don’t need to understand Adora,” Razz said, calling her by the correct name for the first time since they’d met. “You just need to remember.”

Remember…

Bow and Glimmer. Bright Moon. Angella. Without Catra, they were the best shot Adora had at remembering whatever the beginning might be. She had to get to Bright Moon.

Razz grinned and nudged her along with the end of her broom. Where had that come from? “Yes, yes, go on dearie! You must hurry!” Adora took off running into the forest as Razz calmly turned to the portal and walked in without hesitation. The little dear would be fine.

* * *

Explaining herself in a way that didn’t make her sound like a crazy person took about all the willpower and patience Adora had left after losing Catra. Every inch of her was practically vibrating with the need to set everything right on the chance that Catra would come back, and spending precious minutes while the world _imploded_ making nice with a royal family she considered almost like family but had no memory of her was just a tad more than frustrating.

But Adora pressed on. “Look. I know it sounds - weird. And unbelievable. But I _promise_ , none of this world is right. You -” she looked over at the king, “I have no idea who you are. I’ve never met you. Glimmer told me her father died in a battle against the Horde when she was really little. But your Majesty, please,” she begged Angella. “You _know_ me. Please, you have to remember. Bow, Glimmer, Catra, and I - we’re all friends. We’ve rebuilt the Princess Alliance with your help and Spinnerella and Netossa’s. Our world isn’t perfect, like this one, but it’s _ours_. Would you really give that up for another day with Micah? Glimmer and everyone else will die when the portal finally rips apart this planet. Please, Queen Angella - I already lost Catra. I can’t -” Her voice broke. 

“Catra,” Micah mused. “Is she a little cat girl, by any chance?”

Adora managed a fond chuckle. “She’d kill you if she ever heard you call her that, but yeah. She is. She’s my best friend -” so much more than that, “we’ve never been apart. And I have to _fix_ this on the slightest chance it will bring her back to me.”

“Angie, I think this girl and the other might be the forest sprites we’ve heard so much about for years. The villagers say you can hear whispers of them in the trees on a warm day. The Whispering Woods wouldn’t take children in lightly. There’s something to this kid. A certain magic; can’t you feel it? If she’s wrong - where’s the harm?” Micah asked.

Angella looked conflicted. “But what if she’s right? And I lose you again?”

“Then you’ll have all these memories where we raised Glimmer together, even if they aren’t real. Angella - you can’t take the chance that she’s wrong. We have to treat this like any other threat, and ask her what she needs.”

“To go to Dryl,” Adora supplied unprompted. “All I know right now is to go back to the beginning, and that She-Ra’s sword opened the portal. But I don’t know where that beginning is, and Entrapta is the best with First One’s tech. If she can find the sword’s signal, I’ll have a place to start.”

The queen finally sighed and waved her hand. “Take Glimmer with you. If this portal is coming as you say, her teleportation is the only way you’ll reach Dryl in time,” she decided. 

* * *

Convincing Glimmer and Bow of the truth took less time than her parents, and Adora felt the slightest hint of relief when they engulfed her in a hug and whispered apologies over the loss of Catra. Glimmer got them to Dryl in a matter of minutes, exhausting most of her power. 

Entrapta was waiting for them.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been tracking the seismological changes ever since the first tectonic shifts began fourteen hours and thirty-six minutes ago!” she announced cheerfully. “They’ll be strong enough to rip Etheria apart in approximately two hours, fifty-seven minutes and twenty-eight seconds!”

“Great,” Adora muttered. “How do we stop it?”

Entrapta went back to her calculations, her hair doing most of the typing for her. “Portals are gateways, connecting one point in space to another. The only way to turn it off is from the inside.” She gestured at her computer screen like that would confirm what she said, but it just looked like numbers and explosions to Adora. The explosions were probably bad. “But!” Entrapta continued. “Whoever shuts the portal down can’t leave. They’ll be trapped between realities, possibly forever. Oh!” she got really excited. “Imagine the data they could collect!”

“Wait,” Glimmer spoke up. “You mean they’ll just be stuck forever?”

There was a sinking feeling in Adora’s stomach she couldn’t face right now. “There isn’t another way, is there?”

“Nope.” Entrapta even managed to look a little sorry about that, putting aside her ecstasy over such a cool new piece of science she was learning about. “You said your sword was the key to the portal, Adora -” A crack broke through the floor of the castle between them. “The portal is centered on you.”

“I need more time!”

Entrapta shook her head. “It’s following you.” She started to fade away, smiling the whole time. “You need to remove the sword from the inside,” she instructed. “It’s powering the portal. As soon as it’s gone, everything will be right again.”

“And Catra? Everyone else? They’ll come back?” Adora asked. 

“It was nice being friends with you.” 

Entrapta was gone, and then Adora was being glitched to the beacon with Bow and Glimmer. There were stars in the sky - if they were there, reality was warping too quickly. She wouldn’t reach the sword in time, she couldn’t - 

Mara was in front of her. Real, non-holographic Mara. And then the portal ate her too. She had to get away from Bow and Glimmer before they disappeared. “I’ll draw it away,” she offered. “You two stay here.”

“No.” A familiar hand, but not the one she wanted, grabbed her clenched fist and tried to pull her back. “I know what you’re planning Adora,” Glimmer said firmly. “Do you really think Catra would ever agree to this?”

Adora smiled, eyes distant. “I know she wouldn’t. But she’s _gone_ Glimmer,” she said, voice cracking with emotion. “I have to bring her back. That’s the only way I can do this.”

“The only way is the one where _all_ of us are together again,” Bow said, coming up to take her other hand. 

“You’ve got this Adora,” Glimmer told her with all confidence as they began to fade too. “Find another way.”

“Wait! No!” 

Adora was alone. _Again_. She could never stand being alone.

The glitches started happening faster. She was in the Crimson Waste, Salineas, a snow covered peak, a plateau. Screaming in frustration, Adora slammed her fist against the dirt. “This isn’t my fault!” she cried to nobody. “I didn’t make him pull the switch. I didn’t break the world! Why do I have to _fix it_?!”

She always had to fix it. That was what She-Ra was for, Adora realized, resigned. And there the sword was - high above her at the heart of everything. All that was left to do was go get it. And then - well. After that it wouldn’t really matter to Adora.

“Adora stop!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emotions incoming


	13. Chapter 13

“Adora stop!”

The warbling voice caused Adora to spin around, not trusting her ears. “ _Catra_?!” She rushed over to engulf Catra in a hug, in utter disbelief at seeing her still alive. “You - you fell. Into the chasm when the ground broke apart.” Nobody else had escaped the dimension altering magic of the portal, but trust Catra to break all the rules. Adora had never been so relieved at the stubbornness of her friend.

Gesturing at the eye that was no longer a blue that almost matched Adora’s own but instead a dead gray, along with the good portion of her right side that was now pure black - like it had been erased but the imprint was still there - Catra shrugged. Surrounding all the damaged areas were marks like white lightning, jagged and painful looking, though Catra didn’t seem like it was bothering her. The arm holding onto Adora _felt_ real and normal, if not for the magic that prickled at her skin with a sense of ‘wrongness’. “And I clawed my way out to get back to you before you could do something stupid. Like this - this has all the makings of stupid, Adora. What are you doing?”

Adora looked up at where She-Ra’s sword rotated in the eye of the portal. “Razz told me to go back to the beginning. I didn’t understand until now,” she murmured. 

Catra was looking too, her good eye narrowed in suspicion. “And what happens next?”

“I get up there and take back the sword.”

“And then?” Catra’s tone dared Adora to tell her what Catra already knew she would say.

“The world goes back to normal.”

Some of their cliff broke away, plummeting into the failing dimension below. Catra put some distance between her and the edge, circling around Adora. “You aren’t telling me everything,” she accused, claws on her damaged hand already unsheathed. “What happens to you after you get the sword Adora?”

Adora sighed and forced herself to meet Catra’s gaze. They’d never been able to lie to each other. “There was always going to be a price,” she told her sadly.

That was enough of an answer for Catra, who snarled and crouched, ready to pounce. “You are so utterly predictable Adora,” she snapped. “Etheria really chose the perfect hero. You’re so ready to die for its cause - what happened to you wanting a choice?”

“It was made pretty clear over and _over_ that I don’t have one,” Adora huffed.

“Are you really that _stupid_?” Catra hissed, glaring at Adora. “You’re just going to give up on everything - on me? You’re not even going to _try_?”

Adora spun in place, watching Catra carefully. She was slower - wouldn’t be able to escape if Catra decided to stop her. She’d have to leverage her strength against her. “I _did_ try! But what’s the point, Catra? The planet will disappear if I don’t finish this.”

The claws on Catra’s undamaged hand came out. “Let it. I’m not living on a planet where you aren’t.”

“Really? After everything we’ve been through, _this_ is what we’re going to finally fight over?” Adora snapped.

Catra didn’t stop her circling, looking for an angle on Adora. “Until you stop trying to kill yourself for the sake of everyone else, I don’t see any other option.”

“I’m the only one who can do this Catra!”

“I DON’T CARE!” Her voice was jarring, mangled as it was from falling into the warping reality. “Why does it always have to be you, huh? Don’t _do_ this Adora!”

Adora steeled herself against Catra’s pleading, having already made those same arguments in her head and lost. “I’ve made my decision.”

The blackened, glitching thing that used to be Catra’s right arm clenched, shaking. “Yeah. I know.” 

Catra hurled herself at Adora, flinging her to the ground. Adora grunted and rolled away from the slashing claws that followed behind. Never had Catra gone full strength against her in a fight - not even back in the days of the Horde. They had always tried to take care of each other as best they could. But now as Adora was forced into a defensive position with no opportunity to retaliate, she realized that without She-Ra’s sword, Catra was the better fighter of the pair. She could barely ward off the speed that Catra threw strikes at her and some snuck through, leaving tears in her clothing and blood dotting at her skin. 

“Catra, you have to let me do this. If I don’t, the whole world will die!”

“The world isn’t worth you, Adora,” Catra snapped. “Not to me.”

What was the other option? “So, what then?” Adora asked, pushing Catra away from her and catching her breath. “ _Y_ _ou_ do it? I’m not letting that happen, Catra.”

“Guess we’re at a stalemate then.” Catra tackled her friend, bearing her to the ground and pinning her hands against the dirt. “I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself.” She let her head rest against Adora’s, desperately holding back tears. “Please Adora. Stay with me.”

It felt like Adora’s heart was cracking in two. “I can’t this time,” she whispered painfully. “I’m so sorry.” She lifted her arms, forcing Catra up off of her and then kicked out with her feet. 

Catra staggered back toward the cliff edge but managed to catch her balance at the last second. She looked over the edge into the whirling magic she’d escaped once before, unnerved. It probably wouldn’t allow a second escape. A weird tingling started up her fingers, and Adora’s gasp made her look down. They were fading. _She_ was fading. 

“Catra?” Adora’s voice wavered.

Breathing hard, Catra fixed her eyes on Adora. There wasn’t anything else she could do to save Adora from herself. She had seconds left at best, based on what they’d seen. “Adora. _Find_ a different way.” The rest of her was starting to go now. “Don’t let this be it, alright? You can _do_ this. Adora, I -”

Adora blinked, and then Catra was gone - faded into nothing like she never existed.

“ _Catra!_ ” 

She dropped to her knees, unable to hold back tears any longer. How could everything have gone so _wrong_? Scorpia gone, Entrapta, Bow and Glimmer - _Catra_. Entrapta said they would all be back to normal as long as the sword was removed but - what if she was wrong? What if Catra didn’t come back?

Well. Adora didn’t really want to face a world without Catra by her side. If she pulled the sword and everyone was returned to where they were supposed to be, she would be gone. Or Entrapta was wrong and no one would come back. Either way, Adora wouldn’t exist anymore. She could live with that. Or - die with it. Blowing out a deep breath, Adora readied herself for one last mission. 

“Adora!” Angella swooped in through the boulders and swirling magic that surrounded the portal. Adora slumped, letting relief flood through her. Maybe Angella would know what to do. Some way for her to get out of this. Angella rested her hands on Adora’s shoulders lightly, squeezing them before she brought the girl into a tight hug. “It’s alright, Adora. I remember. This world isn’t our own.”

“Catra,” Adora whimpered. “She’s really _gone_.” 

“Oh, sweetheart,” Angella murmured, bringing a hand up to press against the back of her head. She pulled her closer, letting Adora cry for a moment. “How do we fix this?” she asked gently.

Dread washed through Adora again as she realized Angella didn’t even know what would have to be done. She took a step back, letting her head drop in defeat. “Razz said I had to go back to the beginning,” she told the queen, wiping her eyes determinedly. “ _My_ beginning - when I came through the portal. I just need to get up there and pull out the sword. That’ll turn it off, and everyone should come back safe and sound.” She even managed to muster up a smile for Angella’s benefit.

“And you’ll come back safe too?” Adora knew her face was going to give away the game, but she couldn’t stop the way her whole body wilted. “Adora,” Angella demanded firmly without words, “you’ll come back _too_ , right?”

“I have to do this,” Adora muttered, not daring to meet Angella’s gaze. “It will bring Catra back - _all_ of them back. You have to let me do this. _T_ _his_ is my destiny.”

She’d never seen Angella look so _sad_ , not even after her and Glimmer had gotten in another one of their many fights. Shouldn’t she be happy that Adora knew how to fix everything? Adora could give her her kingdom back, could give her Glimmer back. It’s what she was meant to do. “Oh, Adora. No. This is not it.” 

“But -” Adora couldn’t stop Angella from pulling her into another hug. “This is the only way to fix things.” More tears spilled before Adora could hold them back. She was so confused. Why wouldn’t anyone just let her do her _job_? 

“Do you want to know a secret?” Angella asked, drawing back to look at her with a sad smile. “I am...a coward.”

“What? No.” Angella had fought against the Horde for _years_. Even after losing her husband. Without Catra, Adora felt like she could barely walk five feet, but Angella had pressed on, protecting everyone in her kingdom as best she could and raising Glimmer at the same time. 

Angella walked a little ways away, toward the edge of the cliff that had become a floating island as the last remnant of their warped reality faded bit by bit. “I’ve always been the queen to stay behind. Micah was the brave one, and Glimmer is just like him. I let my daughter fight a war because I could not. I told myself I was being responsible, but Adora -” Angella looked up at the portal as Adora stood frozen, still not knowing what to do. Did Angella have a plan? “I was just scared. But then I met _you_. You and Catra - everything the pair of you have survived, overcome _together_. You both inspired us. Inspired _me_. How hard you two fought, not because it was your destiny, but for _each other_. How you both never let fear stop you from finding each other over and over again. You two embody what the Rebellion has always been fighting for - the right to choose.” 

Angella was in front of her again as Adora stared at her desperately, hoping for answers. But she just bent down to place a gentle kiss on her brow, in a way no one but Catra had ever done for her. “I want you to know that ever since you and Catra arrived at our doorstep, I have felt that I had three daughters, Adora. And now I choose to be brave - for all of you.”

“Wait, _no_!”

But Angella was already rising, flying straight up to the portal with no way for Adora to stop her in time. She could only watch as the queen battled against the force of the magic to pause just for a moment at the sword’s level. As Angella took the hilt in both hands, Adora saw lightning the color of She-Ra’s magic crackling along the blade and up Angella’s arms. 

Adora could tell that Angella was struggling to pull the sword free, and the queen looked down at her one last time. She smiled and said something, but Adora couldn’t hear it over the roar of the portal. 

A flash of blinding white light overtook the swirling purple of the portal’s magic for the briefest of moments. When Adora could open her eyes again, the sword was gently floating down to her, harmless and looking benign like it had never caused so much torment. 

Angella was nowhere to be seen.

Adora caught the blade and wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve. She had a job left to do. With a shaking arm, she raised She-Ra’s sword to the sky as she felt the island of rock beneath her begin to fade. “For the honor - of _Grayskull_!”

Reality warped and twisted before abruptly righting itself. Then Adora was back in the Fright Zone, in Hordak’s lab, with him, Shadow Weaver, Bow, Glimmer, _Catra_ , all in various states on the ground. 

But she had a job to do. 

Steeling herself to destroy the last link she had to possibly getting Angella back from wherever she was trapped, Adora turned on the writhing portal behind her. With a scream of anguish and rage, she plunged the sword through the machinery holding the portal together, razing it beyond repair. Its destruction was almost disappointing in how quiet it went out after all the trauma it had caused.

Adora took a moment to close her eyes and silently apologize to Angella for failing her, then forced herself to face everyone still staring. At _Glimmer_. How was Adora going to tell her what her mother had done for her?

She was spared for the time being when Hordak’s lab began crashing down around their ears. The man himself was gone - escaped in the chaos. But then Glimmer was in her arms, and Bow, the rest of the princesses. Cheering. She didn’t deserve their praise - she hadn’t done anything. 

Catra. Adora looked for her absent friend. She was a few feet away, just watching as her left hand fiddled with her right arm - the one that had been so damaged by her plummet into the chasm of deteriorating reality. Catra let their eyes meet for a fraction of a second before she tore them away, a confused frown marring her features. Adora’s heart sank.

“As touching as this is,” Shadow Weaver drawled, “we have to get out of here. _Now_.”

Glimmer nodded and let go of Adora briefly to gather around the sorceress. What was she doing? They grabbed wrists and panic welled in Adora. Glimmer was doing _magic_ with Shadow Weaver? No, that couldn’t be right - she _wouldn’t_. Shadow Weaver couldn’t be trusted!

Before Adora could protest, a glyph rose between them and the world disappeared, only to fade back into focus with all of their group on the Moonstone’s platform. All the princesses broke into cheers, Bow grabbing Glimmer and lifting her proudly into the air and proclaiming that they’d ‘done it’. 

Adora couldn’t bring herself to join what would no doubt be a temporary celebration. Even if Catra would stop refusing to look at her, Angella…

“Speaking of which, I should probably go find my mom.”

Adora froze. She couldn’t do this. She _couldn’t_. How could she tell her friend that her mom had died to save someone who wasn’t even her daughter? It was all her fault. If she’d just been _strong enough_ , she could have done it. Adora made herself turn around - to face Glimmer. 

“Adora?”

She couldn’t stop the tears in her eyes as she let go of She-Ra. Glimmer deserved to hear this from Adora, from the one who actually felt the pain. She drew Glimmer into a hug. “Angella she -” she choked, forced herself to go on, “she stayed behind. To save all of us.” A sob tried to rip free, but Adora held it back. It wasn’t her right when Glimmer had just been told her mother was gone forever. “I couldn’t stop her; I’m so sorry.” 

The rest of the princesses and Bow gathered close as Glimmer broke down into cries and gasping sobs. Adora shrugged free of Mermista’s grasp, taking advantage of the distraction to flee the platform. She made a beeline for the balcony that led to the castle roof and threw herself against one of the many eaves, finally letting the tears loose again when it was safe. 

“I’m so sorry,” she whimpered, palms pressed tight against her eyes. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Adora?” Catra’s voice made Adora’s tears stutter to a sudden halt before her friend’s head popped over the edge of the roof. “Adora, what’s going on?”

Adora just tucked her knees to her chest and buried her face halfway in her arms while Catra sat down - not next to her, because apparently they were still fighting, but at least nearby. Some part of Adora marginally relaxed at her presence. “ _You_ heard,” she eventually muttered when it didn’t seem like Catra was going to continue. “I’m sure you can guess what happened. I let Angella pull out the sword for me, and now she’s never coming back while I just get away with no consequences. _Again_. Seems to be a running theme in my life,” she scoffed.

“Oh, _please_.” The anger in Catra’s voice startled Adora. “You’ve been falling over yourself to rack up consequences since day _one_ Adora, so stop lying to yourself.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve had a stupid savior complex ever since we were kids, Adora,” Catra snarled. “Everyone deserves to be saved except you, right? Only you have to shoulder the burden, and First One’s forgive anyone who tries to stand in the way of that!”

Adora flinched. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said weakly.

“Oh, I don’t?! Sure - I’ve only been with you since we were _three_ , but no, I certainly don’t know a thing about you, do I? I don’t know about how you used to steal extra ration bars for Kyle to try and help him get stronger, or every time you lied for me when I was scared to go to training, or how you always threw yourself between me and Shadow Weaver’s punishments. I don’t know about you taking extra hits in battle so Bow, Glimmer, and I don’t get hurt, or how you push yourself past exhaustion rather than ask for help. I _definitely_ don’t know about the fact that you were going to _kill_ yourself today rather than let anyone else try to come up with a plan that might save you. Are you _trying_ to die, Adora?”

Adora shrunk against the rising accusatory tone in Catra’s voice as she continued railing against her, trying to make herself as small as possible. “Stop it,” she said almost inaudibly.

“What was that?”

“I said stop it!” Adora yelled. 

“No!” Catra yelled right back, glaring at her. “I am not going to just ‘stop it’, Adora! When are you going to accept that your life is just as important to some people as everyone else’s is to you? When will you let me take care of you?” The anger abruptly left Catra and she deflated. “You would have sacrificed yourself for us today without a second thought Adora, and the last thing we would have done is fight each other.” Her voice cracked with held back tears. 

Adora buried her face the rest of the way into her knees. “I didn’t want that.”

“I _know_ , but that’s not the _point_ Adora,” Catra groaned. “The point is you would have _died_ , and rather than let someone fight for you, you just gave up. Accepted fate.” Catra took a second to gather herself so she wouldn’t break down crying in front of Adora. They’d all had enough of that and she had to get through to Adora somehow. “Dying for us is _not_ your destiny Adora, but until you believe that, every day is going to be this. Us: standing on two different sides of that chasm.” When Adora didn’t reply, Catra sighed and got to her feet. “When you make your decision, come find me. I’ll - be around.”

Catra dropped down off the ledge, leaving Adora alone with her thoughts in the dying light of the setting sun. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AO3 is really against me posting lately.

Adora stayed up on the roof until long into the night, mind revolving between Catra’s words and a numbing blankness. Angella was gone, Glimmer was mourning and probably hated her now, and Catra…

They’d never argued like that before, let alone physically fought each other beyond training. What if - did Catra even want her around anymore? She said she would be nearby, but what if Adora didn’t have the answer she wanted? Would Catra just leave her too? 

Well, only one way to find out. Adora steeled herself and clambered down off the roof to head for the only place she could think Catra would be - their room. Was it even _their_ room anymore, or had Catra already separated their lives that much? 

Dreading what she would find and only half expecting Catra to even be there, Adora forced herself to open the door to their bedroom. She took a deep breath, hands trembling, and looked around. 

The bed was empty.

A hole the size of the portal opened in Adora’s chest and she staggered with the weight of it. Catra - she’d actually - she couldn’t have - a small movement caught her eye. Adora’s gaze shot to the huge bay window where Catra was sitting, leaning against the wall and staring out across Bright Moon, looking for all the world like she hadn’t even noticed Adora come in. But one ear was tilted back in her direction. Catra knew she was here. 

Catra was _here._

Everything hit Adora all at once and she just - cracked. She didn’t make it one more step into the bedroom before she collapsed to her knees, exhausted sobs wringing themselves from her chest as the entire day - the _longest_ day - replayed like a holographic message in her mind. The portal, Catra falling, their fight, _Angella._ She couldn’t do this anymore.

Strong arms wrapped around her heaving shoulders and kept Adora from falling all the way to the floor. “Adora?” Catra asked worriedly as she propped Adora up against her chest. 

“I’m sorry,” Adora choked out. “It’s - just - Angella is _gone_. You disappeared and - and then Angella, she - she told me how - how she thought of us as her kids - like Glimmer, but then she just - she flew away before I could stop her!”

Only sheer force of will stopped Catra from blurting out ‘Now you know how I feel all the time’. Instead, she tightened her grip on Adora, letting her cry. This had been a long time coming.

“And now she’s just _gone_ and I’ll never get to tell her! All I ever wanted to do was help, and I’ve failed at everything. I couldn’t save you, I couldn’t save Etheria - Angella had to do it for me and now she’s suffering somewhere trapped in some alternate dimension and I can never get her back for Glimmer!” 

“Adora…” Catra sighed. “She made a choice. Angella was an immortal being and lived so much longer than you have. Do you really think she would have let you sacrifice yourself in her place?”

“It’s what She-Ra was designed for,” Adora said dully.

Catra again held back angry words. Adora was too upset to be yelled at again. “Maybe She-Ra, but Adora wasn’t. Angella saved _you_ Adora, because she cared about you.”

“I didn’t want anyone to die,” Adora murmured, leaning into Catra further. “I didn’t want them to die _for_ me when it’s what She-Ra is supposed to do. But sometimes I - I wish we’d never left the Whispering Woods. I wish we’d never joined the Rebellion and thrown ourselves in this war again.” Tears were still soaking into Catra’s shirt. Adora’s sobs had quieted but the crying never stopped. “I just want to go home.”

“Oh, Adora.” Catra heaved another sigh and held tight, trying to keep Adora together. “You don’t mean that, I know it. You wouldn’t have felt right not helping. You said it yourself - all you ever wanted to do was help. Angella knew that and she decided to save you this time. No one can blame you for her decision. But I miss home too.” Adora seemed past the point of talking, and moving proved too much effort as she eventually cried herself to sleep in Catra’s arms.

Nothing had been solved - if anything Catra felt like both of them were only closer to breaking than they had been before. But she let go of the anger. Adora had been through more than enough for one day without her making everything worse. She’d heard the start of Adora’s panic when she opened the door and hadn’t seen Catra right away. It kind of hurt that Adora thought her problems would ever be enough to drive Catra away from her, but she could understand the fear after what the portal had put them both through. She could only imagine what losing her twice had done to Adora’s mindset. 

Catra managed to get her arms under Adora’s knees and back and lift her slowly. Adora was much more muscular than she was, and Catra grunted as she carefully carried her to their bed. She settled Adora and curled up next to her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “We’ll figure this out,” she promised before closing her eyes.

* * *

Screams jolted Catra out of an uneasy sleep what felt like minutes after she shut her eyes. “Adora?” she murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder and drawing the again crying Adora into her chest. “Hey, it’s alright. You’re safe.”

“Did all of that happen?” Adora asked, voice wrecked. “We _fought_? We haven’t done that in years - why did I do that? I’m sorry, Catra, I’m so sorry.”

“Adora, I need you to take some deep breaths okay? We can’t talk if you’re going to be panicking the whole time. Just breathe with me, alright? You remember how, I know you do,” Catra coached. 

Adora spent a few minutes focusing on Catra’s different colored eyes and breathing. “You died,” she finally said. “You just - disappeared right in front of me _twice_ and there was nothing I could do. If I’d pulled out the sword and all of you came back but I was stuck? The last thing we would have ever done was fight.” 

“I’m sorry,” Catra apologized, surprising Adora. Catra never apologized if she could help it. Always claimed it made her fur stand on end and why do it if she was never wrong? “I should have just talked it out with you but I got scared we were running out of time. And then I disappeared. But I’m sorry I pushed you and I’m sorry I couldn’t stay. But - Adora. As much as you need me to stay, I need _you_ to stay. Do you kind of get how seeing you so willing to sacrifice yourself over and over again is terrifying? Why I push so hard against it whenever you try?”

That hit Adora hard. “I - I never thought of it like that,” she confessed. “Everything’s just always been my job to fix. Constant pressure in my mind to make sure everyone else was okay. It’s She-Ra’s duty.”

“I know,” Catra sighed. “I’m not asking you to change who you are, Adora. I know even without She-Ra you’d be charging in like an idiot and trying to save everyone. I just want you to take a second and _think_ every once in a while, if there’s another way around a problem besides _dying_ for us. Do you think you can do that for me? After everything we’ve been through?”

Adora flinched at the reminder of what she’d said in the portal. “I can try,” she agreed. “I don’t want to leave you.”

She was dragged back down to the bed as Catra curled up on her chest, purring. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted - you to stay with me forever,” Catra murmured. “Just stay with me.”

“Okay,” Adora whispered, letting her eyes shut.

“You’re mine.” 

Catra waited for their typical response, but Adora took her by surprise. Reaching up to rub at the base of Catra’s ears, Adora sighed out an, “I’m yours.” That was straying into territory they’d both avoided since Netossa and Spinnerella’s brief and mortifying tutoring on love. Getting close to the new level of their relationship they’d been reaching for back in the woods before any of this started. For the first time, it felt nearly within their grasp, and it was enough to settle them to sleep. Purring like a skiff motor on top of Adora, Catra bumped her chin with the crown of her head affectionately before burying her face in Adora’s neck. Adora shivered and wrapped Catra up in her arms, sinking further into sleep and grateful that any of this was still possible after the portal. Catra was still here, and Adora was hers. That was all that mattered.

“I’m yours.”

* * *

As preparations were made for Glimmer’s coronation, Adora tried to participate, but mostly just stayed out of the way. The other princesses did a lot of the work with Bow, letting Catra focus on making sure Adora was recovering. They’d had more than enough trauma for a lifetime or two, and Adora was - fragile - after the portal. Her faith in She-Ra was shaken, her faith in herself nearly non-existent. She avoided speaking with Glimmer through some vision of misplaced guilt, and Catra didn’t really see a way to get through to her at the moment.

“I’ve got to get her out of here,” she told Bow one afternoon a week before the coronation. “Adora isn’t getting better and honestly, the longer she stays in Bright Moon, the worse it’s getting.”

“Is she still having nightmares?”

Catra frowned. “Multiple times a night. Look - I know the coronation is a big deal, and that it’s important to support Glimmer right now because she needs us but…” she looked helplessly over at the closed door to her bedroom. “I need to help Adora. Not just for her. I’m -” Why was it so hard to say to the boy that had been one of her best friends for nearly two years now? “The portal didn’t just hurt Adora. We have to talk. _Away_ from everyone else who might be loud and try to interfere. Can you just give us a few days for me to get Adora back to our home? I’ll do my best to be in Bright Moon for the coronation, but she needs to go home.”

“Of course,” Bow said firmly. “Glimmer will want Adora to be alright - she’s ignoring a lot of things right now, but I know she doesn’t blame Adora for what happened. Can you make sure Adora knows that?”

Catra sighed, running her hand through her hair. “I’ll try, but I’m not sure how to convince Adora of it. She’s very sure that if Glimmer doesn’t hate her, she should. I have a hard enough time getting Adora past her savior complex on a _good_ day, let alone after something like the portal. I’ll work on it. We’ll leave tonight, try to avoid any fuss from the rest of the princesses. Let Glimmer know we said goodbye. And - thanks, Bow.”

* * *

“Hey, Adora,” Catra said gently as she closed their bedroom door behind her. Adora was over on the window seat, eyes staring off into the distance as her fingertips drifted over the flat of her sword. She turned toward Catra and managed a smile as she reached out a hand for Catra to take. Catra pulled her in for a hug instead, letting Adora sink against her chest and breathe in the scent of the forest that still clung to her fur, no matter how long they’d lived in the castle. “What do you say we get out of here for a bit, hm?” she offered. “Just you and me. Hordak’s been quiet since the portal - I think he’s still licking his wounds - and nothing is happening here until Glimmer’s coronation. I want to go home, like you said.”

Nothing for a moment, but then Adora nodded minutely. “That sounds - nice,” she murmured. “I miss it. I don’t - I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. I just feel lost.”

“I know,” Catra sighed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “What you’ve been doing isn’t _wrong_ Adora,” she tried to placate her. “You just kind of don’t always remember to plan yourself an escape route when you go about saving the world. And a lot of us - especially me - _really_ like you still living. We’ll figure it out together okay? It’ll be alright. Maybe not right away, but eventually.”

“Because you’re here.”

Catra sat down behind Adora to let her lean against her chest. “Yeah, and I’ll be okay because you’re still here too. So let’s just take a little time, alright? These last couple years have been - a lot. And most of it’s been on you to shoulder, so let me take some of it for a few days.”

“...Yeah.”

* * *

Entering the Whispering Woods seemed to give Adora a little more life to her step. She wandered familiar paths happily and congratulated Catra when she brought down their dinner for the night. Bow had discreetly gathered them some supplies, but Catra wanted the next couple days to be as close to their life before as she could make it. Back when it was just the two of them and everything was so much simpler. She had almost suggested they leave She-Ra’s sword for Bow to babysit, but if they ran into trouble and Adora couldn’t help because she didn’t have the weapon, she knew the guilt would pile on again. She _had_ asked that Adora just keep it in her gauntlet form though, and stay focused on being with her.

It seemed to be working, at least a little bit. Adora trotted up to Catra and rested her head against her temple, leaning in for a moment. “Thank you,” she murmured. “I think I needed this.”

“We both did,” Catra reassured her, nuzzling into Adora’s shoulder. “We need to talk about it - the portal, everything.” Adora flinched, but Catra didn’t let her pull away. “Hey, Miss Punch-your-feelings-out,” she teased gently, “remember you learned to talk about these things for me. I’m not angry anymore, I promise. I just want to figure out where your head’s at and - well. I’m kind of messed up from it all too,” she admitted. “That chasm - we can talk about it later,” she said with a shudder. 

Guilt crossed over Adora’s face. “I never even asked if you were okay,” she realized, starting to panic. “I’m - I didn’t -”

“Whoa, whoa, Adora. Calm down for half a second. That’s why we’re out here - to breathe and talk about it. There’s been a lot going on with Glimmer and the coronation and the Horde. So just relax for a minute.”

“Okay,” Adora said with a deep breath. She managed to let herself enjoy being back in the Whispering Woods with Catra, alone, just the way they liked it best. Maybe she could...A small smile crossed her lips and she gave Catra a playful shove, pushing her into the dirt and taking off running deeper into the forest. “Want to see who’s still the fastest?” she called over her shoulder.

“Hey not fair!” Catra shrieked, scrambling to her feet and launching herself after Adora on all fours. “You cheated!” she complained as she clawed her way into the treetops to leap between them. It was the only way she had a shot of catching up. 

Adora’s laughter was the best thing she’d heard in weeks. Catra didn’t even mind losing the race. Adora always did know the forest better than her anyways, and Catra wasn’t too proud to admit that Adora still understood it better than her. She was willing to bet it was all the magic swirling around in her from She-Ra. “Don’t be a sore loser,” Adora teased.

“Just like simulation trainings,” Catra grumbled good-naturedly. “If Lonnie could see you now - goody goody that was always beating her times, turned rebel.”

“You and I both know that if you’d ever shown up on time and not gotten penalties, you would have left both of us in the dust,” Adora sent right back.

Catra’s pace stuttered just as she caught up to Adora under their tree. Did she bring this up now? Could Adora take it? She’d _promised_ to always tell Adora when a memory came up that wasn’t right in her head. Catra couldn’t keep secrets from her. “Adora? Do you remember what happened the one time I beat you two in training scores?”

“I -” Adora stopped and her eyes clenched shut. “I forgot something, didn’t I?” she asked, voice small. 

The full weight of a nearly grown catgirl slammed into her back, almost taking them both down. “You forgot how brave you were that day,” Catra whispered. “You shut Lonnie up when she complained, saying I’d cheated - beat her up with your staff. It was the only time you two ever really fought, since you always tried to be friends with everyone.”

“I cared about you the most,” Adora swore.

Catra held on to her tighter. “I know. Shadow Weaver grabbed me for one of her late night ‘sessions’ after dinner for daring to be better than her ‘prized pupil’.” They both shuddered at the thought of Shadow Weaver’s continuing obsession with Adora. “I didn’t get back until the next morning. I tried to hide it, but you took one look at me and knew. Couldn’t ever keep anything from you. You practically bundled me out of bed that night and tried to run with me, but we were nine, so you can probably figure out the rest of the story.” It never changed until the day they finally succeeded over a year later. 

Fingers traced her fists, easing them out so they could run along her fingers to the tips of her claws. Adora played with her hands, concentrating on bringing them both back to the present. “She called it ‘correction’ - that day she kidnapped you,” she finally muttered. “Like you were just loose wiring in my head that had gone faulty and had to be replaced. Shadow Weaver knows so much - she knew about me being from another planet, all about magic, she probably already knows about whatever weapon Mara’s message was talking about on her ship. I mean, I’ll bet she even knew about She-Ra and that I would be her someday,” Adora spat. “That’s why she’s always been _obsessed_ with me.”

Never had Catra been more glad that she let go of her mild jealousy of Adora back when they were little before it had time to grow. Pain was something that could be endured and survived. The violation Adora had suffered...she got the feeling they’d still only scratched the surface and that Adora would be working on recovering from it for years to come. “We don’t listen to anything Shadow Weaver says,” Catra reminded her. “She has _no_ idea how powerful we are together - if she did, she wouldn’t have allowed us to stay together as long as she did. And that’s her loss. If she’d just treated us right, imagine where the Horde would be today with us as its leadership.”

Adora shuddered at the thought. “We would have crushed the Rebellion by now.”

“You bet we would have.” It was an odd thing to be proud of, but Catra would take what she could get from Adora right now as long as it got them off the topic of Shadow Weaver. “Now come on. Help me get this cooked and then let’s see just how many squirrels made a home in our bed _this_ time for you to make friends with.”

Adora’s quiet giggle was music to her ears.


	15. Chapter 15

“I want to go back to the Crimson Waste.”

Adora’s quiet murmur a few days into their return to the Woods had Catra frowning, confused. “Why would we go there again?” she finally asked from her position on Adora’s chest, keeping her voice neutral except for the grunt of disappointment she let out when Adora stopped petting behind her ears. The Waste hadn’t been nearly as helpful the first time as Adora had hoped, and Catra didn’t want her going through that disappointment again so soon after the portal.

“Everything Light Hope’s said about Mara - almost destroying the world, being compromised, losing it? It doesn’t make sense. Razz knew her, said Mara _saved_ the world by putting us in this dimension. I just - I _need_ to know more about Mara, and I think her ship is the only chance I have of finding out.” Adora linked her fingers together to keep her hands from shaking. “After the coronation. What do you think?”

“Well I don’t trust the psycho hologram as far as I can throw her,” Catra grumbled, “so anything that proves she’s lying is a bonus for me. I’m sure we can get Huntara to come with us, and maybe Bow. Glimmer would probably be too busy with all her queenly things to do.”

Adora flinched at Glimmer’s name, which Catra made a note of but didn’t call attention to yet. “I can’t stop thinking about how the Whispering Woods didn’t want Light Hope to find me, but showed me the way to the sword.” She sat up, disrupting Catra, and let the gauntlet transform back into the blade and stared at the designs etched into the flat of it. “They wanted me to become She-Ra, but didn’t want me anywhere near anything related to the First Ones. Even Razz pulled me away from the Crystal Castle the first time I saw it. You remember that?”

“I do.” Catra rested herself against Adora’s back, offering up her comfort if Adora wanted to accept it. The slightest responding pressure of Adora leaning back into her had Catra wrapping her arms around Adora’s waist and her tail weaving between her ankles as she purred. “Light Hope has some goal, obviously. We don’t know what it is yet, but Mara must have gone against it if she did everything she could to prevent another She-Ra from existing.”

“But I’m here, so maybe only She-Ra can stop it?”

Catra sighed and let her cheek press against the back of Adora’s ponytail. “And our only answers may be in the Crimson Waste. Wonderful. Alright,” she agreed. “Let’s go get Mara’s ship. Technically it probably belongs to you now, so really we’re just reclaiming your property.”

Adora snorted a quick laugh. “One crashed spaceship. Awesome.”

* * *

The Crimson Waste was still awful. Still dry, and sandy, and windy, and dusty, and just generally terrible. At least they knew where they were going this time. Perfuma, bless her, had also finally found something she hated, and her dramatics were at least keeping Catra entertained while they walked their way back into the center of the desert. “Aren’t you all about deep breathing, meditation, everything’s going to be fine, Princess?” she asked with a smirk.

“Those who have achieved true peace have _never_ \- met a cactus,” Perfuma sniffed. “Completely un-plant-like behavior, and it will not be tolerated. Do you hear me?” she barked at a large cactus nearby. “You live off the sun, you grow flowers, you need water, and you _will_ listen to me!” A few needles spat from the cactus toward Perfuma, making the princess squeak and duck behind Huntara, who was none too pleased about the barbs now sticking out of her arm.

“Hey maybe if you talk slowly, the cactus won’t bite ‘Fuma,” Catra teased. 

Perfuma glared at her. “Ask one time about the relations between the magicat population and their panther companions, and I’m insensitive,” she said primly.

Catra leapt on top of Adora’s shoulders, nearly upsetting her balance in the precarious sand. Adora huffed and braced herself better, letting Catra perch there a moment before dumping her into the nearest dune. “I don’t even know what magicats are,” Catra said, unbothered by the turn of events. “And nah, that was just payback for you trying to make me do your breathing exercises. I’m the calmest person around. Adora, tell her.”

“You are the most hyperactive person I’ve ever met,” Adora said, deadpan. “You should have seen her when we were kids. Keeping up with her was more exhausting than training simulations.”

Even though it was at her expense, Catra would do anything to keep Adora messing around with them. “And what else would you have done with our free time, Adora? Train some more? Boring! My way was so much more fun.”

A small smile crossed Adora’s face and she held out a hand to lift Catra from the sand. “True. We did have fun.” As if to prove Adora’s point, Catra took off around the nearest bend in the path, making Adora sigh. She knew exactly what Catra was trying to do and well, if it wasn’t working. 

Glimmer hadn’t been happy about letting Adora, Catra, Bow, _and_ another princess go to the Crimson Waste without her, but the many royal duties she now had kept her tied to Bright Moon for the time being. Adora felt terrible for thinking it, but she was glad for some more time away from Glimmer. She still couldn’t really look her in the eye after everything, even at the coronation, and she needed to get her head on straight before Glimmer picked up on her mixed emotions.

Pushing thoughts of Glimmer aside, Adora gave chase, catching up to Catra and tackling her into the sand. Catra grunted, the wind knocked out of her by the rough treatment. “Hey! What’s the big idea Adora?”

“You were about to run into a quicksand pool. I was just saving you,” Adora said in a teasingly superior tone.

“What?” Catra squeaked. “I was not!” Just in case, she eased a toe out over the next few feet of sand. It stayed firm under her feet and Catra shoved Adora in retaliation. “Dummy,” she muttered. Adora giggled and Catra couldn’t help affectionately rubbing her forehead up against Adora’s shoulder in response. If she could keep getting Adora to inch out of the shell she’d been protecting herself with, maybe everything would be okay. Maybe the confidence Adora had lost would come back.

* * *

Mara’s ship was untouched from when they’d last left it, Adora having been careful to ensure that the control room was sealed off. Catra wandered off to explore the other rooms of the spaceship while Adora and Bow tried to come up with a plan to get the ship back to Bright Moon. 

“We should have brought Entrapta,” Adora realized. “The only way this is getting back to the Rebellion is by flying it. Even if I was She-Ra I don’t think I could lift this, and I’d be exhausted in a couple hours. It would take weeks to get home that way.”

Bow nodded, looking perplexed. “Maybe I can rig something to get it flying again. It’s only been a thousand years right?”

“You’re the expert,” Adora attempted to reassure him. She was about to try and boost up his confidence some more when Catra sauntered into the control room, catching Adora’s attention. Catra looked like she was up to something, which could be disastrous or hilarious.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra purred, practically snuggling into Adora’s side. 

Startled, Adora looked down at her best friend. What - what was she doing? They were - now was _not_ the time, she knew that! “Um. What are you doing?”

“What’re you talking about, dummy?” Catra chuckled, eyes giving Adora some kind of - look. One she’d never seen before and had no idea what to make of. “What we always do.”

“No.” Something wasn’t right. Adora transformed immediately into She-Ra and held her sword out at Catra even as Bow freaked out behind her. “Who are you?”

The Catra fake - Adora just _knew_ it - put a hand over their chest as if insulted. “Wow. Really? I mean, I get that you’re super into the sword and all but I really think it’s too soon to bring into our relationship Adora.”

“One last time,” Adora threatened. “Who are you, and where is Catra? Are you one of Shadow Weaver’s mimics?”

“Adora?” Another Catra walked into the control room, claws unsheathing as she noticed the second - _her_? - drawing such a strong reaction from Adora. “What’s going on?” she asked.

The other Catra clapped their hands together excitedly. “Oh, the drama! The theatrics! That’s true love, honey,” they informed the real Catra as they shifted into a more reptilian form. Both Adora and Catra blushed deep red. “Don’t you let her go. Oh, this was _fun_ \- so much more than I expected! Even though you did kind of ruin it by catching on so fast, darling,” they reproached Adora. “It was almost enough to put a dent in _my_ confidence, and that’s saying something. This is not mere mimicry my dear, I _really_ get into character, and you saw right through me. For shame!” 

They truly looked a little heartbroken. If Adora wasn’t so confused, she’d be - no, she’d still be confused. She had no idea what was going on. “Who _are_ you?” she demanded.

“The name’s Double Trouble.” They bowed theatrically with the introduction. “You and the kitten seemed like mischief in the making - I’ll have you know I usually only do my A grade work for top price, but you two are just such an _interesting_ pairing, I had to follow! Pardon for any alarm darlings.”

“Uh huh,” Catra drawled, moving to stand between Adora and Double Trouble. “And now that the game’s up, what next? What do you want?”

“Well, to ply my trade of course!” Double Trouble quickly shifted between numerous characters, mimicking all of them at least once as well as a few other strangers. “For the right price - I’m afraid to say money always speaks.”

Bow poked his head into the group. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to fly a spaceship, would you? Because I think I _maybe_ figured out how to make this thing go and we all need to get back to Bright Moon kind of on the soonish side. Glimmer has a mission for us.” He held up the tablet as proof, showing Glimmer nodding quickly.

“I think I’m gonna stay here,” Huntara decided with a grin. “Take back the Crimson Waste. This is _my_ home.”

“Well, it does seem like there is now room for one more in this adventuring party,” Double Trouble said excitedly. “Would you consider taking on a poor actor? I don’t often work for free but I just can’t pass up the opportunity for such mischief! What do you say? I can make it worth your whiille!” they offered in a sing-song voice.

Adora glanced at Catra, who was trying to suppress a smile. She could tell that Catra found the effusive reptilian at least amusing, if she didn’t already downright like them. “Fine,” Catra agreed after a nod from Adora. “But if you sing, we’re done.”

Double Trouble looked heartbroken but nodded sadly before immediately perking up again. They shifted into Catra. “Singing? Puh. Nobody has an appreciation for the finer arts in this troupe.”

“I _love_ singing!” Bow exclaimed.

Still as Catra, Double Trouble threw an arm around Bow’s shoulders. “Then you and I will surely get on like two lovers, Arrows my lad!” They paused. “Is Arrows truly your name, I didn’t catch it earlier.”

“It’s Bow - Catra just calls me that.”

“Darling,” Double Trouble eyed Bow up and down critically, “that’s hardly better.”

Catra chuckled. “Tell me about it. It’s a little on the nose Arrows.”

“My dads called me it!”

“So you keep saying.”

Adora couldn’t hold back her laughter at Catra and Double Trouble already ganging up on their other friends together. Bow and - Glimmer - had been wonderful friends, mostly, to both of them, but Adora knew Catra had a hard time dealing with their constant optimism every day. In truth, Adora did too, but Catra had a little less patience for it. Having someone else around to bother people with would do her some good. “Welcome to the team, Double Trouble.”

* * *

With the addition of Double Trouble’s mayhem, things got better and worse for Adora. She was glad Catra was able to get into mischief with someone else, and she worried less about her best friend. But while those two were off causing anarchy amongst bots and squads sent in by the Horde, Adora felt like she was running around in circles with no end in sight.

Glimmer had been acting...weird since the coronation. With Horde attacks seemingly ramping up, though none of them were substantial, she’d started sending Adora off on her own while groups were sent out to search for some ultimate weapon the Horde was supposedly transporting. She hadn’t even seen Spinnerella or Netossa in _weeks_ , with them commanding groups on the outskirts and running the day to day reconnaissance in the outer reaches of the kingdoms. And anywhere Adora went, the Horde seemed to follow. Glimmer insisted that the Horde must be tracking Adora somehow, though Catra had reassured Adora when she worried about it later that she couldn’t fathom a way Hordak would have been able to accomplish that without them knowing, and she was feeling a lot like a useless decoy. 

All that, and now she’d come back from the third pointless ‘mission’ that week to find that not only had a group made up of Catra, Spinnerella, Netossa, and Double Trouble managed to destroy some special new bot from the Horde, but that Glimmer was learning magic from _Shadow Weaver_ and had given her freedom to roam around a garden without _telling anyone_.

“What were you _thinking_?” Adora demanded after dragging Glimmer into a corner so Shadow Weaver couldn’t hear them. Catra was backing her up while keeping an eye on the sorceress at the same time. “She’s too dangerous to let out of her cell.”

“She hasn’t done anything,” Glimmer said defensively.

Adora couldn’t believe the words that just came out of Glimmer’s mouth, and by the look on Catra’s face she couldn’t either. “Hasn’t - _done_ anything?” she hissed. “Have you lost your mind Glimmer?! Or did you just forget that _that_ is the woman who tortured Catra when we were kids?”

“And changed Adora’s memories again and again to try and make me hate her so she could drive a wedge between us,” Catra added furiously. “Who tried to turn Adora into the ultimate weapon for the Horde!”

“No, I haven’t forgotten! But she also got us to the Fright Zone to save you guys and she’s helping me with my magic!”

Adora scoffed, backing away. Catra took her hand to keep her from leaving her behind. “She offers you a little power and all is forgiven, huh?” Adora snapped. She couldn’t believe Glimmer would betray them like this. “That’s all she cares about Glimmer - _power_. She’ll use anyone in her way to get more of it. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I have a handle on it. Don’t treat me like I’m naive!” 

“You are s-”

“C’mon Adora,” Catra interrupted, tugging on Adora’s hand. “She’s not going to listen to us.” She threw a glare at their friend before quickly getting Adora back to their room. Once the door was closed, Adora transformed her sword from the gauntlet and hurled it point first into the furthest wall with a frustrated yell. “ _Hey_.” Catra grabbed both her biceps from behind before Adora decided to commit any more structural damage and dragged her to their bed. “Let’s not tear the whole palace down while we come up with a plan.”

Adora glared up at Catra even as she let herself get pushed onto the mattress, arms crossed tightly. “She’s not getting near you,” she said fiercely, eyes flashing with anger. “I won’t _let_ her.” Catra had never heard Adora sound so deadly. That was usually reserved for her.

“That’s a promise we make each other, isn’t it?” Catra chuckled, trying to lighten Adora’s mood. She was honestly terrified at the thought of Shadow Weaver roaming free around their home. It made her want to take Adora and run back to the Whispering Woods. The trees would never let her find them there. 

Catra slowly prompted Adora into laying down on the bed with her, letting her stew and threaten all she liked. It was at least a change from the habit of constantly doubting herself Adora had picked up since the portal. As she wound down though, anger turned to anxiety and back to fear - as it always did - and Adora couldn’t help but remember all the ways Shadow Weaver had hurt them. “We were _children_ ,” she eventually broke down into tears and sobbed into Catra’s chest. “We didn’t deserve it, and she just gets to get away with everything?”

“No,” Catra said, firm in her conviction. “She isn’t going to get away with it. She’ll be a prisoner for the rest of her life, no matter if Glimmer lets her wander around in a garden or not. She’s hurt too many in the Rebellion for anyone with a working brain to trust her. I’ll talk to the General in the morning, let her know that Shadow Weaver is to be guarded wherever she goes. Even discreetly. She won’t hurt us again,” she promised. “I won’t let Glimmer endanger you for her pride.”

“I just don’t understand.” Adora’s crying had quickly petered out and she lay half on top of Catra as claws scratched lightly at her neck. “Why would Glimmer do this to us? Is she punishing me for Angella? Is that what this is?” She sounded so defeated.

Claws pricked deeper into her skin for a second before being abruptly sheathed. “ _No_ ,” Catra growled. “Adora - you’ve done _nothing_ that you deserve to be punished for. Everything Glimmer is doing, with the baiting and the lying, she’s grieving and trying to win this war quickly. She’s going about it the completely wrong way, using you the way she is, but she’s not doing it to punish you. If I’m wrong, I will tear her apart and we’ll go back to the Woods and the Rebellion will never hear from us again,” she swore, pressing a kiss to Adora’s temple before nuzzling closer with her nose. “Shadow Weaver will get what’s coming to her. Maybe not tomorrow, but someday. I swear it, Adora.”

“I’m so tired, Catra,” Adora murmured. “I just - don’t know what to do anymore. Glimmer doesn’t trust me, she’s separated me from you, and I’m no closer to getting answers about why Mara did any of what she did a thousand years ago. I’ve done _nothing_ of value since the portal, and I didn’t even do anything to fix _that_.”

“Hey. Look at me, Adora,” Catra coaxed Adora into peeking out from the fur lining Catra’s chest. “You aren’t alone, okay? My only priority in all of this is you. The second any of this becomes too much, we can walk away.” Adora was already trying to protest, but Catra put a hand over her mouth to stop her. “I mean it. I don’t care about this stupid war if it gets you killed, either by the Horde or because Glimmer won’t admit she’s _wrong_. I’ll get you out of here before then. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Adora snuggled deeper into Catra’s arms, letting the warm feeling of protection wash over her. It’d been a while since she’d allowed herself even a little bit of relaxation - she was so used to having to be the one to look after everyone else, lately. Everyone in the kingdoms needed something from her, was looking to _her_ to solve everything just because she was She-Ra. Except Catra. And now more than ever, she needed that moment of safety.


	16. Chapter 16

Training with Light Hope was - frustrating, to put it lightly. Adora had never really trusted the hologram after learning that the Whispering Woods had done their best to shield her from the program, even less so after she tried to separate her and Catra, and everything she’d learned about Mara gave Adora the sense that Light Hope had done nothing but lie to her. She was really hoping Bow would have some news soon on Mara’s ship turning up new information so Adora could finally decide one way or another whether to cut Light Hope loose for good or not. However, with the Horde being so quiet lately and no word from Scorpia in weeks - ever since the portal - there wasn’t really anything for Adora to do but train. It also had the benefit of keeping her far away from the ever increasing tension at Bright Moon between Glimmer, her, and a still-free Shadow Weaver.

So she was in the Crystal Castle, fighting simulated Horde bots while Catra entertained herself outside. She refused to let Adora be completely alone with Light Hope, but neither of them wanted another experience of the hologram’s traumatic ‘guidance’, so Catra stayed out in the clearing. 

Adora stood on top of a spinning bot as She-Ra, hacking at others as she rode the confused one. “This is actually kind of fun,” she muttered to herself. Maybe she could pull this off in a real fight, if Hordak ever sent more than a few bots at a time after them again. 

“You are not taking this training session seriously.”

And there was Light Hope, butting in as always. Adora sighed and looked up where the hologram had appeared, ever-present mildly frustrated expression on her face as she observed Adora. “What? Me?” Adora sassed her just a little bit in the way she had picked up from Catra over the years. “No, that doesn’t sound like me at all.” A larger bot rose up behind her and Adora hurled her sword through its viewing screen without breaking eye contact with Light Hope. The simulation faded as the bot exploded dramatically. Adora sheathed her sword and crossed her arms. “Am I done now?” she asked, feeling a bit sullen. 

None of this was getting her anywhere. Glimmer was still acting - weird - Bow was running himself ragged trying to act the mediator and get a thousand year old spaceship back into working order after the disappointment of not actually fixing it in the desert, and Catra wouldn’t stop giving Adora worried looks every time she came back from yet another mission of Glimmer using her as bait. She’d asked Catra if Hordak was trying to pull a con on them with such meaningless battles, but Catra couldn’t figure out his strategy.

“I sense resistance.”

Adora rolled her eyes. “Because you won’t tell me anything! That portal Hordak activated nearly destroyed Etheria, and I heard this message from Mara - somewhere - about a weapon on the planet. Are you _sure_ you don’t know anything about it?” Light Hope was silent, making Adora groan. “I don’t need more training. I need _answers_. I thought we agreed that you would help me, and not hold back.”

“Adora. Mara was compromised. She became unhinged,” Light Hope repeated her words from months ago.

“She didn’t seem unhinged,” Adora retorted. “She seemed - scared. This weapon that was mentioned, what if I can use it to protect the Rebellion from the Horde’s next move? Or defeat the Horde once and for all?”

“Once you balance the planet, all will be clear,” Light Hope intoned. 

Why did she make bringing ‘balance’ sound so ominous? Wasn’t balance generally a good thing? Light Hope started lecturing her on the duties of She-Ra yet _again_ , but then began to glitch out. “Great,” Adora muttered, going over to the door to try and pry it open when the hologram shut down suddenly. “Stupid mysterious computer programs.”

“Adora!”

“Catra?”

The password didn’t work like it usually would. Pounding on the door from the outside upped Adora’s urgency level to frantic as she stuck her sword in the crack and tried prying it open again. “That is not the intended use for She-Ra’s sword,” Light Hope observed, apparently having turned herself back on.

“That doesn’t matter,” Adora grunted, nearly falling over in her efforts. “Open the door - Catra’s in trouble!”

“I cannot.”

“What are you talking about?”

Light Hope looked up for a moment. “My sensors have detected a fluke spore cloud blooming in the Whispering Woods. It is not safe outside.”

“Exactly why I would want to bring Catra _inside_ ,” Adora growled. “As administrator, I am _telling_ you to open the door, Light Hope, not asking.”

A long, _long_ pause before Light Hope nodded minutely. “Very well, She-Ra.” 

The door slid open and Catra immediately rushed inside, patting a small portion of singed fur on her arm. “Took long enough,” she groused. “Was the door stuck or something?”

“Light Hope didn’t want to open them. Let me look at that.” Adora transformed again and put one hand over Catra’s arm, concentrating. It took only a small effort to heal the superficial burn.

“Hey, you’re getting pretty good at that,” Catra said, surprised. “Remember Plumeria? Maybe you just can’t do plants,” she teased. Adora huffed and shoved her, making Catra laugh. “Oh. Before I forget - the Woods were kicking up a bit of a stink earlier, like they do when the Horde gets too far past the border of the trees. Bet that’s what set off their whole acid bloom thing this time.” This wasn’t the first time the teens had experienced a spore cloud event, but the Whispering Woods generally kept it away from the girls. It was their secondary defense system if the local wildlife wasn’t enough to keep unwanted visitors out.

Adora brought her sword back out of its sheath. “Alright, then I’m going to go check things out. Light Hope, keep the door unlocked.”

“Wait!” Catra grabbed her hand to keep Adora from leaving. “I’m coming with you.”

“No. She-Ra will just heal from any of burns I get once I change back, and the shield’s only big enough for one at a time. This acid will burn through regular metal, so any Horde soldiers wandering around are in for a nasty surprise,” she reassured Catra. “I’ll be fine.”

Adora could tell Catra didn’t want to let her go, but she eventually acquiesced. “Don’t do anything dumb,” she warned. “If you get hurt, I’ll have DT singing non-stop at you while you lie in bed, unable to escape.”

“I’m trembling,” Adora snarked back before taking off into the trees. She could feel the same discontent Catra had noticed. “I hear you,” she murmured, flicking away a stubborn spore that stung her shoulder. “Where is it?” The ‘off’ area was a little distance away to her north, and Adora set out at a quick run to keep Catra from having to worry for too long. Besides, She-Ra could run for days, and Adora rarely got to test it out.

The ‘it’ in question turned out to be a Horde tank being pelted by the golden spores so similar to the Woods’ normal helpful motes. There was yelling coming from the inside, and when Adora rounded the corner of the tank, she saw a small, skinny teenager unconscious on the ground. 

“ _Kyle_?!” Adora rushed to pick up the boy she’d trained with and hauled him inside the opened tank. Sure enough, there were Lonnie and Rogelio, looking frantically at their squadmate on the screen. “What are you guys doing here?” she demanded, slinging Kyle onto a box and getting ready to try out her healing power for the second time that day. 

Lonnie moved straight into acceptance that Adora had shown up out of nowhere and they weren’t going to be fighting each other. Adora had hoped that maybe Scorpia would be there, but Lonnie was a good second bet. “Hordak sent us out on some dumb _mission_ behind enemy lines to retrieve some kind of First One’s artifact, which we _did_ , but the spores ate right through it,” she snapped. “Disabled our tank, and then Kyle went out like his idiot self to fix it and got himself all burnt to a crisp.” Her angry words were belied by the gentle way she wrapped the worst burns in bandages. “I _know_ Rogelio, I _am_ being careful,” she growled to Rogelio’s worried hiss. 

“Let me,” Adora intercepted gently. Hovering her hands over Kyle’s prone body, she concentrated. It was harder to reach than it had been for Catra - She-Ra was always easier to call forth when Catra needed her - but she managed to shape the magic enough to wipe away the burns covering Kyle’s skin. Adora let out a sigh when it was done. She was getting tired, but had enough left in her to get them back to the Crystal Castle. Maybe. “Listen,” she told the other two. “The spores are going to eat through this tank in the next few minutes, so unless you guys are up for a wild joyride, I suggest you come with me. I can get you to safety.”

Lonnie eyed her a bit mistrustfully, but eventually nodded. “Fine. Anything to get out of this stupid forest.”

The discontent rose and Adora winced. “Okay, first lesson. If you want to survive the Whispering Woods, don’t insult them. They’re magic, alive, and great at holding grudges.” Lonnie’s face paled and she nodded hesitantly. “Now. I can carry Kyle with me to shelter, and then I’ll come back for you two, alright? It’ll only take me a minute.”

“You won’t leave us here to die?”

Adora frowned. “We were friends once, weren’t we? We looked out for each other. I’ll be back for you,” she swore.

Rogelio tapped Lonnie with one claw and nodded. “Fine,” Lonnie agreed. “Don’t - don’t let anything happen to the idiot,” she muttered quietly. Clearly they were all still close.

Adora transformed the sword into her shield and lifted Kyle back into her arms. “Back in a minute,” she promised again before taking off out of the tank and back toward the Crystal Castle. “Eternia!” She ran through the opening doors, skidding to a halt right in front of Catra.

“Adora, what -”

Dumping Kyle into Catra’s arms, Adora spun around and ran off again. “No time to explain. Be right back!” she called over her shoulder. Barging her way back into the tank, Adora eyed both Lonnie and Rogelio. Either of them was going to be difficult to cover with her shield, and while she could probably heal any injuries they acquired on the run to safety, she didn’t really feel like forcing loopy Adora on Catra for the entire walk back to Bright Moon. “Hmm,” she pondered, looking back out at the spores still coming down. “Any way you could let up?” she asked the Woods while the other two stared at her like she was crazy. “I swear I won’t let them hurt you.” There was a sense of grudging agreement before the spores petered out slowly. Adora grinned. “Thank you. Come on,” she urged Lonnie and Rogelio. “I’ll take you to Kyle and Catra.”

“Catra’s still with you?” Lonnie blurted out.

“Of course,” Adora said, looking at Lonnie strangely. Why wouldn’t she be? “We live at Bright Moon castle now with the rest of the Rebellion. We lived here for a few years though,” she expounded, gesturing at the trees around them. “The Woods raised us - taught us how to survive out here.” She chuckled suddenly. “The villages around here used to call us the Forest Children, like we were spirits or something.”

Rogelio hissed something at Lonnie, who nodded. “And the Rebellion,” she began hesitantly, “they just took you guys in, even though you used to be Horde?”

A thought occurred to Adora, one she refused to place too much hope in. “They did. We almost didn’t go with them, but the Rebellion isn’t anything like the Horde told us growing up. The princesses - their magic isn’t Shadow Weaver’s. Catra will be the first to say that some of them are annoying and positive to a fault, but even she likes them most of the time,” Adora said fondly. “You should - you should come with us,” she extended the offer finally. “Face it. Kyle...he isn’t ever going to be a top rank soldier, and if you protect him, you’re going to get left behind too. How many promotions have you guys passed up since Lonnie made Force Captain?” she asked. The silence was answer enough. “Come with me and Catra. Kyle won’t have to fight if he doesn’t want to. We’ve even got a princess obsessed with her own experiments. Kyle could be an engineer, a lab assistant, or anything else. You could all be safe, only fighting if you _choose_ to.”

Lonnie and Rogelio looked at each other before they both nodded a moment later. Lonnie tore off her Force Captain pin and hurled it into a berry bush. “You get us all out of here in one piece, we’ll go to the Rebellion with you.”

Catra was just lifting a newly conscious Kyle to his feet when the other three reached the Crystal Castle. Her eyes widened at the newcomers. “Hey, Adora? Can I talk to you?” she asked, a little worried. 

“It’s fine Cat,” Adora reassured her with a smile. “They’re coming home with us.”

“We’ve already adopted DT and now you want the Bumbling Trio?” she whined half-heartedly. 

“Hey!” Lonnie snapped, fist clenched. 

Catra gave her an unimpressed look. “Chill out _Lonnie_. Do whatever you guys want, I don’t care. _But_ ,” she got up in the taller girl’s face, “if you do anything that threatens Adora’s safety, I will claw your eyes out one at a time, just like I did with Octavia.” 

Tamping down the weird feeling Catra’s threats gave her, Adora shifted back to her own body and wrapped her arms around Catra’s waist, lifting and hauling her away from a suitably frightened Lonnie. “I think she gets it Cat. But everything’s going to be fine.”

“What were you three even doing out here grabbing tech for Hordak anyway?” Catra apparently wasn’t done with the inquisition, even hanging a few inches from the ground in Adora’s hold.

“That is weird,” Adora realized. “Scorpia told us she was heading those missions. Did Hordak give her a new assignment?”

Rogelio nudged a suddenly stricken Lonnie. “Hordak, he uh -” Lonnie coughed.

“He sent Scorpia to Beast Island,” Kyle finished solemnly. “Over a week ago.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things do not get better.

“So we’re just letting everyone join the Rebellion these days, are we?” Glimmer commented almost benignly except for the slightest tone to her voice that immediately set Adora on edge. “Soon the castle will be overrun with Horde soldiers, and _we’ll_ have let them all in.”

Adora frowned in confusion. She’d kind of finally felt like she’d done something _right_ , getting Lonnie and her boys to defect from the Horde. Her and Catra had handed the trio off to Spinnerella and Netossa, and the wives were back in the castle briefly and happy - particularly Spinnerella - to have some new charges to look after and take with them if the kids wanted to go fight again. They’d been so patient with Adora and Catra when they were learning about the world outside the Horde and the Whispering Woods, Adora just knew the rest of their old squad was in good hands.

But now Glimmer was being snarky about it, and Adora had no idea what to make of that. Catra saw Adora flinch and shrink in on herself, saw her start questioning her decisions so soon after finally acting like her old assertive self again, and quickly got angry. “Those three have been working with Hordak personally, they’ll have a ton of valuable information,” Catra said, hackles raised. “They already told us that Scorpia was sent to Beast Island for helping us with the portal.”

“We have to get her out of there,” Adora said, coming back to herself a bit with Catra’s verbal support. 

“Get her back from the island both of you said was so dangerous that no prisoner of the Horde’s ever sent there returned alive?” Glimmer asked skeptically. “That sounds like a terrible idea.”

Bow - who had tried to remain neutral in the growing feud between the girls - stepped forward. “Maybe we can scout it out,” he offered hesitantly. “I think I’ve almost got Mara’s ship working again with Entrapta’s help. We could fly there once it’s ready.”

“No. It’s too dangerous.”

“We _owe_ her,” Adora said, vehement. “Scorpia has saved mine and Catra’s lives more than once, directly contradicting both _Shadow Weaver’s_ and Hordak’s orders.” The directed barb hit as intended, with Glimmer stiffening at the mention of the sorceress. “We can’t just leave her to die out there alone if there’s any chance of saving her. Besides - she’s a princess too.”

“ _No_ one - is going to Beast Island,” Glimmer ordered, “and that’s final.”

Adora jerked straight. “You aren’t my queen,” she hissed in a tone so reminiscent of Catra’s even she had to do a double take. “I don’t take orders from you. I _thought_ you were my friend, and that I fought _with_ you, but I guess everything’s different since the portal.” She turned on her heel and stalked out, immediately followed by Catra and even Bow, after he sent a conflicted look back at Glimmer.

* * *

Though Adora wanted to set off immediately to rescue Scorpia, Bow was still working on Mara’s ship. “Are we doing the right thing?” she asked Catra one night after they’d retreated to their room for privacy from prying ears. “With the whole - fixing the spaceship to go to Beast Island against Glimmer’s direct orders...thing.”

“You said you needed to know more about Mara, so we’re fixing the ship. And we _do_ owe Scorpia. She’s our friend, and the ship will be the easiest way to get there. Sounds fine to me.”

“Yeah, I know I _said_ that, but was it right?” Adora asked again. “I just - I feel like I’m going in circles. You always seem to know what the right thing to do is, like when we met Huntara and you told me I was being dumb for trusting her so quickly.”

Catra winced. They never had talked about that. “Okay, I could have been nicer about saying so. It’s not like she would have been much of a threat to She-Ra anyway. I was kind of - jealous,” she muttered the admission, claws pricking anxiously against the bed sheets. “It was stupid. You just wanted to be friends with her so quickly, and I got scared. I’m sorry.”

Hands gripped her waist and lifted Catra into Adora’s lap so she could bury her face in Catra’s hair. “You’re always going to be my favorite,” Adora murmured. “You don’t ever have to be jealous, or scared, or anything. I’m never leaving you.”

“I can’t help it sometimes. Everyone always loves you, and I’m - prickly. I can be mean.”

“Not to me.”

Catra twisted so she could rest her head on Adora’s shoulder and play with her fingers, running her claws gently over the tips. “No, not with you,” she agreed. “You’re always the exception Adora. But sometimes that makes me - territorial I guess. Even when I know I shouldn’t be. Just because I was right that time doesn’t mean I’m always right though - I mean, I am almost _always_ right and you should _always_ listen to me, but -” she broke off with a giggle when Adora huffed and shoved her face first into the bed. Catra turned over so she could finish more seriously. “You don’t have to double check with me every time you make a decision Adora. Trust yourself, and if I think we can do it better, you know I’ll speak up. I have no problem showing you up when you _are_ wrong, you know that.”

Her earnest words seemed to get through to Adora for a minute, but then her expression dropped. “I miss Angella,” she whispered miserably. “She always trusted us - she would have stopped Glimmer from giving Shadow Weaver her freedom. She would have protected us from her.” She curled in on herself again.

“I miss her too,” Catra said. She wiped away some of Adora’s tears that had started back up and coaxed her to lay down next to her. 

“I want things to go back to the way they were. When we had an enemy I could actually fight, and Angella was here, Bow wasn’t so nervous about saying the wrong thing, and Glimmer didn’t _hate_ me,” Adora’s voice hitched on the last bit and she buried her face in Catra’s soft fur, trying to let the scent of the forest calm her. 

Catra held on tight. This couldn’t continue. One of them was going to reach a breaking point soon - Catra in frustration, Adora from anxiety - unless this was reined in. But how did she tell one mourning girl that her taking it out on the other was less than constructive? Catra wasn’t exactly equipped to deal with that in her training from the Horde. Manipulation she understood just fine from her time under Shadow Weaver’s thumb, but this was so much more difficult. “We’ll figure it out,” was all she could promise, softly purring until Adora eventually cried herself to sleep.

* * *

With Bow still working on Mara’s ship since Perfuma’s cacti roots had carried it from the desert, Adora found herself seeking out Madame Razz. She hadn’t seen her since the portal debacle, and she felt bad for letting the nice old woman fall by the wayside. Razz had always been kind to them and deserved better from Adora. “Razz?” she called. 

“Mara dearie! You’re just in time for pie.” Razz had gone right back to calling Adora by Mara’s name again since the portal, apparently unclear on which portal she’d actually been in more recently. 

“Sorry Razz,” she sighed. “Still just Adora.” 

“Come come Mara, berries for the pie! And sugar!” 

Razz took off out of the hut and, used to it, Adora followed along at a trot. “Sugar? When have you ever been out of sugar Razz?” Adora huffed. The old lady sure hadn’t slowed down in the last seven years - she was as hard to keep up with as ever. It was almost like back in the portal, with her disappearing every five feet only to reappear further away. 

Adora was really starting to regret saying she didn’t mind if Catra went to relax and hang out with Double Trouble for the day. She also hated the feeling she got thinking about them without her. It was _good_ for them to have different friends - that’s what Spinnerella said anyway. It supposedly meant they were branching out and growing as people, not relying so heavily on each other. Adora wasn’t sure she bought it. So what if Catra and her relied on each other? They’d survived being raised in the Horde together, and the only reason Adora was even still alive was because of Catra. Wasn’t it a good thing that she trusted Catra so much and wanted to be around her?

But if it _wasn’t_ , Adora didn’t want to make things worse by throwing a fit every time Catra wanted to do something that didn’t include her. It wouldn’t be fair to Catra. So Adora had just smiled at her that morning and urged her to go cause mayhem with Double Trouble while she checked on Bow’s progress, stuffing down jealousy all the while. 

And now she’d completely lost track of Razz. Great. She couldn’t even do that right. Adora groaned in frustration, swiping one hand across her face. She needed to focus on the mission at hand and stop _worrying_ about Catra and Glimmer and everything else that was going wrong. There was one last mystery of Mara’s to solve - just what was the weapon on Etheria that she’d been so frightened of? And how did Adora stop it?

Light Hope knew more than she was letting on. It was the only thing that made sense. And maybe - just maybe - this was why the Woods had never wanted Adora anywhere near the Crystal Castle when she’d found the sword. Speaking of…

“Where did she go?” Adora asked the trees tiredly. An answering wind rustled through the leaves, blowing in a specific direction. “Thanks,” she sighed, heading that way. Instead of berry bushes, Adora found Razz digging around in a pile of brush beside another relic tower of the First Ones. Fantastic. “Razz? What are you looking for?” Adora asked, slowly approaching the old woman to not startle her.

“Sugar, Mara, pay attention! And message for Adora!”

“Wait. What? A message for me?” How could there be a message for her? Mara had been dead for a thousand years - if the message was even from Mara. And if it, in fact, existed. She never could tell with Razz. Adora started poking through the same bush Razz had been. It looked like a rubbish pile of thrown out First Ones’ junk, but Adora sifted through it. The only thing still in one piece was some diamond shaped crystal - as well as several packets labelled with ‘sugar’ in First Ones’ writing. Adora grabbed the crystal and a couple of the sugars, passing those off to Razz. “Here you go,” she said gently, still inspecting the crystal. “Sugar for the pie Razz.”

A strong, thin hand pinched her cheek. “You are such a good girl Mara,” Razz praised. “So like Adora. You’d be proud of her, dear.”

Adora flushed bright red. “Thanks Razz,” she muttered and rubbed at her cheek. She stared down at the symbols on the crystal. 

‘Grayskull Squadron’...

“Grayskull,” Adora murmured to herself. What squadron - why was she pledging to them each time she became She-Ra? Was it referring to Mara and what she’d done, stranding Etheria in Despondos? Had it been a full on rebellion against the First Ones? They’d been planning something - something that frightened Mara enough to try and get rid of She-Ra for good. Out of everyone she’d met or heard of because of She-Ra, Adora trusted Mara the most - even if she had been dead for a millennium. 

Maybe there was something on Mara’s ship that could give her answers about this Grayskull Squadron. Adora’s grip tightened around the crystal, pressing lines into her palm. This was the first break she’d gotten in months of stagnancy, all because of -

Razz was approaching her, holding a steaming pie in her hands. When had _that_ happened? It’d only been a few _minutes_. Adora shook her head, too exhausted to question the old woman’s strange comings and goings. “Come come, Adora,” Razz urged, catching the teen’s attention with her real name. Adora followed her to the clearing that now housed Mara’s ship. 

Bow started to sputter at the sudden appearance of Razz, but Adora quieted him with a look. Whatever was going on was important to Razz and she didn’t want to see the old woman interrupted. 

“There you are dearie,” Razz murmured sadly, placing the fresh dessert on the captain’s chair. 

Adora dashed away tears. Mara had obviously meant the world to Razz, if even a thousand years later the old woman still missed her so badly that she saw her everywhere. She couldn’t help but feel like she was a poor substitute.

“Everything alright Adora?” Bow asked, uncertain.

“Yeah. I think Razz just needed to say goodbye,” Adora reassured him as they watched Razz slowly wander back down the loading ramp and toward her house. “How are things here?”

Bow sighed, sounding frustrated. “Not as good as I’d hoped. There’s something missing, and without it, I’m not sure she’ll ever fly again. I can’t figure out what it is though.”

Adora looked down at the crystal still in her hand. Razz never showed her anything without reason, even if it didn’t become clear for days or even weeks. Maybe… She approached the console where she had previously played a message from Mara using the sword. The crystal had to have some use. 

There.

A depression just the size to fit the crystal, another nearly identical one already resting in place beside it. Adora fit hers into its slot, and the ship hummed to life around them immediately. 

“ _Adora_.”

The voice she’d come to recognize as Mara’s spoke behind her, causing Adora to turn. The previous She-Ra was sitting in the Captain’s chair, still just a hologram, but she was _looking_ at Adora this time. Mara smiled, as though she could see the utter confusion on Adora’s face.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, or if I’ve been less than helpful. If you’re hearing this, then someone finally found that crystal Razz ran off with years ago.” Mara chuckled and looked down, shaking her head. “Razz always did know better than all of us, even if she’s strange. She talks about you all the time - half the time she thinks I _am_ you, always asking where my little friend is - I wish I could meet the pair of you. Must be quite the duo, the way Razz goes on. But I’m rambling.”

Adora approached the hologram, wanting to feel that little bit closer to her predecessor. A part of her soul ached to be able to just _talk_ to Mara and not be forced to listen to thousand year old messages from a long dead mentor. Especially with Angella gone - there was no one to turn to for advice anymore. Adora wanted someone to just tell her what the right answer was. She was so tired.

“The First Ones - my people, and yours - they’ve done something to the planet. I thought I was sent to Etheria to safeguard it, protect its people as they grew closer with their magic and advanced with our help. But I was wrong,” Mara said darkly. “My people turned this planet into a weapon. The magic on Etheria is stronger than any of the First Ones can control, and they fear it. But despite that fear, they’ve stolen and chained it at the center of this planet. The Heart of Etheria Project. I tried for years to learn what it was and only just found out. Me and my team - the Grayskull Squadron - have turned against our people in an attempt to block their path to making a planet destroying weapon, but I fear we may be too late. So, for the sake of the planet - the universe - I’m going to do something drastic.”

Adora had a nasty feeling she had already heard how this ended.

“The Heart of Etheria weapon is linked to the Etherians’ runestones throughout their kingdoms that give their royal families power and brings them into conjunction with the Sword of Protection. Our sword.” 

Mara winced and grabbed at her side, gasping. For the first time, Adora noticed a bleeding wound cutting deep into her skin. Mara was already dying. Even a thousand years later, Adora cast her eyes about the ship, looking for a way to help the long dead hero. “Don’t leave,” she muttered, kneeling at Mara’s side.

“Listen Adora. I don’t have much time - it’s already started. My squadron is holding them away as best they can but it’s only a matter of time. As long as I’m connected to the sword, they can activate the weapon, so I’ve left it where I hope it’ll never be found and severed my bond to it. Maybe that will have kept the planet safe until you are ready. So Adora - I’m going to ask you to do something very difficult.” Adora could only watch as Mara bent over again, letting out a grunt and breathing deep for a few seconds before straightening. “If Etheria achieves balance, if all the royal families are connected to their runestones and you are still bonded to the sword, there’s nothing you can do to stop the weapon. If that happens, in order to save Etheria, save the universe, you _must_ break your connection to the sword. I know that must seem impossible, that someone so _good_ could be used for such evil, but it’s the only way Adora. She-Ra - she wasn’t made by the First Ones. Razz told me that. So long ago,” Mara said wistfully. “The sword just allows us to channel her better. But if She-Ra chose you Adora, I know you’ll make the right decision. Free Etheria, Adora. Any way you can. And don’t trust Light Hope. She’s been reprogrammed by my commanders to only follow their instructions.” Mara smiled down at Adora, as if she knew that she would be there, and reached out. Adora let her hand brush over the hologram, carefully keeping it from falling through and ruining the mirage. “I _really_ wish I could have met you. You and Catra.” She faded out.

Adora had wanted answers. Had spent the last _year_ looking for answers. But now that she had them, she kind of just wanted to forget all of it. She really was just a tool for destruction? She-Ra - she might have been good once, but she’d been corrupted by the First Ones. Her _people_. 

“Adora?” 

She ignored Bow’s hesitant call, stumbling to her feet and running out of the ship. She couldn’t be with anyone right now - she had to think. It was all too much.

“Adora!”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which so much happens.

Adora fled to the roof of the castle, shaking off every inquiring greeting or hand that tried to stop her along the way. All of the princesses had been in Bright Moon more often since Angella’s loss, and the castle was just too busy anymore. Adora couldn’t think with all the _noise_. 

She breathed a sigh of relief as the silence of open air welcomed her. Everything was overwhelming - Adora didn’t know what to start with. Her finding the sword could have ended the world three years ago? But it hadn’t. 

Why hadn’t it? 

Scorpia had to be the key. With her family being the former royals of what was now the Fright Zone, she had to be the only princess not connected to their runestone. Now more than ever, Adora felt the urge to immediately go after their friend on Beast Island. If she wasn’t dead already. No - she wasn’t going to think negatively. Scorpia was smart, as much as she tried to see the best in things always and that could get her into trouble, she knew how to look after herself. She’d survived the Horde long enough to be a Force Captain after all. Scorpia would still be alive when Adora and Catra went to save her.

“Thought I might find you up here.”

Adora whirled around to see Catra leaning casually against a smokestack. “...I didn’t hear you come up,” Adora murmured. How long had she been standing there alone, thinking about it all? “How was your mission with DT?”

Catra shrugged. “Eh. Not as much fun without you along.”

“You don’t have to say that to spare my feelings. You can just tell me the truth. Glimmer doesn’t seem to have problems with that anymore,” Adora scoffed.

“Hey.” Catra’s head tilted in confusion. “What’s going on with _you_? Bow just said you ran out of the ship and hadn’t been seen since. That there was another message of some kind from Mara but he didn’t understand most of it. He was pretty worried about you Adora. What did Mara say?”

“Oh, just that if the world ends in the next few days it’ll be my fault, but no big deal, right? Everything’s already my fault anyway, what’s one more screw up?”

“Adora. Nothing has been your fault; we’ve been over this,” Catra reminded her. “No matter what Glimmer is saying, right?”

Adora glared at the roof tiles, trying to rein in the bubbling anger. She felt so off kilter lately. Everything either made her want to cry or explode with rage, with no middle ground. She didn’t know how to handle it. “That’s easy to say when you aren’t being blamed for everything.”

“I doubt anything Mara had to say was blame for you. Come on, Adora. It’s me,” Catra coaxed her gently, stepping forward. Adora let her nuzzle into her shoulder, not really reacting to the comfort. “Adora.” Catra guided her chin to look down at her. “It’s me,” she repeated. “Don’t shut me out.”

There was silence for a long minute as Adora decided to trust the most important person in the world. “The First Ones turned Etheria’s magic into a weapon powerful enough to destroy the entire universe,” she confessed. “And if Scorpia ever connects with the Black Garnet while I’m still She-Ra, I’ll be the one to activate it. _I_ will destroy the universe.”

Even more silence as Catra processed that. 

“ _Say_ _something_ ,” Adora begged.

Arms wrapped around her shoulders fiercely, claws pricking just barely into her skin - not enough to be painful, just enough to remind Adora who was holding her. “It’s okay,” Catra murmured. “It’s gonna be okay Adora. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that. Not anymore.”

“I can and I will,” Catra said vehemently. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you Adora.”

Adora wanted to believe her, but how could anyone stand against a civilization that had been so hellbent on at least controlling everything if not destroying it all, even if they were a thousand years gone? The whole planet was a ticking time bomb, and Adora was the fuse. Or She-Ra. Was there even a difference between them anymore? Where did She-Ra end and Adora begin?

“I guess you were right about the ship holding the answers about Mara that you were looking for,” Catra was saying while Adora was lost in thought.

Wow, she got _one_ thing right. Adora kept those negative words to herself. “Yeah,” was her only reply. 

“Hey. I’m here, and you’re here. And nothing bad can happen as long as we’re together. Right?” 

That promise. Could Adora keep it for much longer? She wanted to - more than anything. “Right,” she finally relented. “Thanks.” She let her head drop to Catra’s shoulder, nudging into the curve of Catra’s neck and hiding her face in her mane. 

Everything had to turn out alright, because she couldn’t lose Catra.

* * *

With the ship functioning again, Adora, Catra, and Bow began working on a mission to go to Beast Island without Glimmer knowing. It probably wouldn’t be too difficult as - much to Adora’s chagrin - Glimmer was spending more and more time with Shadow Weaver in magic lessons and off on her own solo missions. They could sneak out without too much difficulty. But Adora didn’t feel right about leaving without at least warning Glimmer and the other princesses of the danger at the heart of the planet. 

It was dismaying to find out the princesses were split on whether the Heart of Etheria was as world ending as Adora and Bow were claiming or if it could be harnessed and used against the Horde in a final show of force. Mermista was with Glimmer in wanting to use it, Perfuma with Adora, Frosta wavering between, and Entrapta just wanted to _study_ it. 

“You're not understanding!” Adora tried one more time. “This isn’t something we can use! If Scorpia connects with the Black Garnet, that’s it. There won’t _be_ a chance to use it against Hordak, the world will just be _gone_. You can’t do this.”

“And did you ever think that maybe we’ve grown in the last thousand years, and have better control over our runestones than the First Ones might have anticipated? We can do this!” Glimmer hyped. “Right Bow? Bow?” Her arms dropped.

Bow frowned and looked over at Adora, who just shrugged. She wasn’t going to get in their way, and she honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Bow chose Glimmer over her, no matter his reservations about the Heart of Etheria. Their history went much deeper - he had to trust Glimmer more than he did Adora. Adora took Catra’s hand and began to walk away. They had a rescue to plan, and a ship to learn how to fly.

“I’m sorry Glimmer, but you’re _wrong_.” Adora stopped dead when she felt Bow’s calloused hand rest on her shoulder. “We’ll just have to find another way to stop the Horde. The Heart is too dangerous. You didn’t hear what we did Glimmer.”

It sounded like maybe Glimmer started shouting, or complaining, or _something_ , but Catra dragged Adora away before she could take the brunt of it again. That was the last thing Adora needed. She was proud of Bow when she saw him straighten his shoulders resolutely and turn his back on his oldest friend, choosing to follow her and Adora and what he knew was right. She should have had more faith in him.

“We should go now,” he muttered, taking the lead and heading for Mara’s ship. 

“Are you guys going to BEAST ISLAND!?!” 

The excited shout startled all three of them, nearly sending them to the ground for cover as Entrapta popped up out of _nowhere_. “Um, yeah,” Bow panted. “Did you want to come or something, Entrapta?”

“Would I?!” Entrapta squealed and ran ahead of them, disappearing onto Mara’s ship with glee. 

“Well, she’ll have figured out how to fly that thing in five seconds,” Catra murmured, ushering Adora in as well. “Guess we don’t need to learn.”

* * *

As Catra had suspected, it took Entrapta no time at all to learn the ins and outs of Mara’s ship, even discovering the artificial intelligence onboard that she promptly named Darla and started drooling over. Soon enough, they were on their way to Beast Island.

The approach was even more frightening than the stories Adora and Catra had heard as kids in the Horde. The sky went dark, and some malevolent presence emanated from the island that only Adora could really feel. Like the island was telling her to stay away. And that just became more apparent after they landed and it seemed like the entire place was out to get them. To get her, specifically. Between the cute little creatures turned deadly murderous and the vines that seemed to suck all willpower from them, just walking was difficult.

“Hey guys!” 

Catra yelped and leapt up onto Adora’s shoulders, perching there and hissing as Adora drew her sword. Bow was aiming his weapon in every direction, screaming at the top of his lungs with his eyes closed.

Scorpia popped out from behind a purple-ish vine, patting it carefully. “Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare ya there. Boy, it is good to see some friendly faces you know what I’m saying? You are - you are real right? ‘Cause I tell ya, I have been seeing some things lately. Kitty cat that’s really you?”

“Yeah, it’s us, Scorp. Wanna get out of here?”

“Do I ever! Those little things are cute, but tell you what - they do not want to be friends. Nuh uh.”

Adora dropped to her knees as the malevolence she’d been pushing back for hours threatened to overwhelm her. “Catra,” she groaned.

“Adora! Entrapta what’s wrong with her?” 

Entrapta tapped away on some datapad she’d been tinkering with the whole time on the island, recording anything she ‘discovered’. “It seems like this island is filled to the _brim_ with First One’s technology. Oh! This must have been a dumping ground for their old equipment!” Entrapta gasped out a squeal. “Imagine all the data stored on those machines!”

“Entrapta! Focus!” Catra barked at the princess, cradling Adora close as she whined. 

“The First Ones put a safeguard around the island - probably to keep Etherians from coming and hurting themselves or interfering with their outdated tech. It’s set to go off if it senses any First One’s tech too far from the vicinity of the central cavern!” Entrapta spouted at the speed of light. “It must be reacting to the SWORD! Oh! That _is_ what it’s doing! It’s reading She-Ra’s sword as tech being stolen and is activating its defense mechanisms to slow Adora down enough that the physical safeguards can catch up and render her a non-issue!”

Catra rolled her eyes. “You mean kill her, don’t you? Why do I even - Scorpia, grab Entrapta. We’re leaving. Now.” Scorpia apologized to Entrapta before bodily lifting her as the princess kept tapping away at her screen, not caring in the slightest. “Run for it!” Catra ordered, throwing Adora’s arm over her shoulder and helping her move. Bow came up on her other side and together they got Adora back to Darla with the murderous animals nipping at their heels. Adora recovered enough to grab and toss one away that had leapt onto Catra’s shoulder right as they entered the ship. 

“Let’s never come here again,” Adora moaned, slumping to the floor of the spaceship. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“It really didn’t like thieves, huh?” Bow wondered.

Adora glared up at him half-heartedly. “I’m not a thief! The sword’s _mine_. _I’m_ a First One! Those cute little monsters should have known that!”

“Okay, I think it’s bed for both of us,” Catra decided, hauling Adora to her feet. “Entrapta, tell us when we’re back at Bright Moon. And use the _door_ this time, not the air vents. You’re creeping me out Princess.”

“Right-o First Mate Catra!” Entrapta saluted with her hair.

“C’mon Adora, let’s go take a nap. All that gross First One’s stuff should be gone as soon as we leave here,” Catra coaxed Adora into following her down the hall. She’d really expected Beast Island and finding Scorpia to be more of a trial than it turned out to be, but Catra would take what she could get at this point. And Adora had _still_ had a rough time, despite only being on the island for a matter of hours.

“I have never seen Adora look that down before,” Scorpia stage-whispered to Bow, one pincer up by her lips. “Is she okay?”

Bow heaved a deep sigh, staring after his friends. “It’s a long story Scorpia. You’ve missed a lot.”

* * *

Glimmer was - not thrilled with them, when they got back, to say the least. There was a lot of shouting, and Bow kind of quickly escaped to spare Entrapta and Scorpia the Queen’s tirade, trusting that Catra would look out for Adora. 

Adora was flickering between confusion and anger as the reprimand for going against royal orders continued. “I told you before that I don’t answer to you,” she defended herself hotly. “I fought _with_ you, not _for_ you, because we were supposed to be _friends_ Glimmer. But ever since -”

“What? My mom died? Go ahead and say it, Adora! My mom died, and now I’m queen of a dying Rebellion as the Horde is practically at our doorstep, and you, Catra, and Bow keep going off _without me_!”

“Because you were working with Shadow Weaver!” Adora finally lost it. “You let her out of her cell, let her wander around the castle unchecked, after everything she’s done!”

Glimmer rolled her eyes. “What has she done since she’s been here besides help us?”

“Oh, do you want us to answer alphabetically or chronologically Sparkle Toes?” Catra hissed. “Just because she’s been feeding into your ego for the last year doesn’t erase all the ways she hurt us!”

“ _My_ ego?” Glimmer snapped. “She-Ra was supposed to _save_ us. But my mother is gone, we’re _losing_ this war, there’s an entire army out in space that could come here at any time, and no one here is following my orders! All you’ve done since you got here is make everything worse!” Glimmer shouted.

Adora froze in shock, hurt taking over for anger in her expression. “I - I’m doing my best,” she whispered. 

“Well maybe your best isn’t good enough.”

They’d both forgotten Catra was there, and her eyes narrowed when she saw the tears gathering in Adora’s own. “I’m sorry,” Adora blurted out before turning tail and running out of the room.

“And she’s running again. Like always,” Glimmer muttered.

“ _Enough_ , Glimmer!” Catra yelled, finally losing her temper completely. The use of her actual name was enough to ground the still-new Queen to a halt. “Just - enough.” She took a deep breath, trying to rein in her anger. Glimmer was still mourning - Catra understood that to a certain extent. But Adora was her priority. _Always_ her priority. “Adora comes back to our room every night, and _every_ night, she cries until she falls asleep. Every. _Night_. She - is _exhausted_ . Adora is killing herself trying to end this war for you, and you are listening to the woman who tried to _erase_ her. You lost your mom, Glimmer - I know that. But we never had a mother to lose. The _closest_ we got was that monster you let roam free in the _gardens_!!” 

She was panting now, so overwhelmed with the anger that Adora would never show. Catra tried one last time for calm and sheathed her claws. “So don’t you _dare_ blame any of what happens next on Adora. You still think, after everything we’ve done for you, that Shadow Weaver is your best bet and harnessing the Heart is what will win you the war? Fine. When you fail, don’t forget we tried to warn you.” She turned her back on Glimmer and began stalking away, back to Adora.

“And where are you going?” She still managed to sound snippy and superior. Catra hated Glimmer when she got like that.

Catra’s ears pinned themselves against her hair, and she turned around to fix her glare on the queen. “Getting Adora away from you,” she hissed. “We’re going back to the Whispering Woods before she gets herself killed over _your_ war. We never should have left in the first place.”

* * *

Convincing Adora to leave didn’t actually take very long, much to Catra’s surprise. She got the feeling even she had underestimated just how worn down Adora really was, if she was agreeing to break away for a while. Or perhaps Adora was taking the lessons she’d learned from their fight in the portal and actually applying them - choosing to stay with Catra and not let herself be the sacrifice even Glimmer now seemed to think she was. 

No matter how much she might want it to be permanent right now, Catra knew they would be back before too long. But maybe she’d be able to get Adora to relax for half a second and recover. Deal with her own grief at losing the only maternal figure they’d ever truly had and figure out just what part she wanted to play as the war continued. 

The Whispering Woods welcomed its children’s return with a happy, fluttering wave of warmth and a shower of its golden dust. Adora still cried the first night back in their home, but Catra thought it might have been a mixture of relief and exhaustion. She’d made the right decision bringing them here, no matter how furious Glimmer might be with them. Catra’s only concern was getting Adora healthy again.

Before Adora fell asleep that night, she cuddled in so close to Catra she practically buried herself under her body and into her fur. Catra just let it happen, only rolling her eyes the tiniest bit at herself for thinking it was maybe the cutest thing she’d ever seen. Living with the princesses had made her so _gross_. “It’s alright now, Adora,” she reassured her. “You can rest. Nobody’s going to ask you to do anything in the morning.”

“But...the Heart…” Adora mumbled, already halfway gone.

“Hasn’t been activated, and is fine for one more day. It’s been dormant for a thousand years Adora, just sleep.” Catra worked Adora’s hair free from its ponytail and started carding her fingers through it. Adora let out a pleased hum that got a bit louder when Catra’s claws scraped her scalp ever so gently. One of her hands reached out and hooked onto Catra’s tail and she held it tight under her chin the way she used to when they were kids. Catra had been introduced to stuffed animals and security blankets thanks to Glimmer, and it seemed that Adora had substituted her tail in the absence of those items when they were little. It had been a while since Adora felt the need though, and Catra’s ears pinned back angrily even as it made her nauseous that one of their best friends had treated Adora badly enough to drive her to younger, forgotten habits.

Sometimes Catra wondered what they’d be like if they’d been able to have a childhood like Bow and Glimmer. If their first seventeen years hadn’t been pure survival and war. Adora wouldn’t even be on this planet if she’d been brought up with her family, so Catra - as horrible as it made her feel - couldn’t really regret being raised by the Horde. 

As long as they had each other, nothing bad could happen.

She had to keep believing that.

* * *

They got a full three days of rest - Adora slept fifteen hours straight that first night - before it all went to hell. Red lightning streaked into the sky from the direction of the Fright Zone, with an answering burst of light from the moonstone in the opposite direction. If they’d been close enough, Catra was sure they’d be able to see ensuing rays of magic from Plumeria, Salineas, and the Kingdom of Snows.

Adora and Catra watched the different colors of magic spread across the purpled sunset and clash in the middle into a rainbow of energy. Dread filled Catra and she could almost guess what would happen next.

The converged magic blasted down straight at Adora, colliding with both her and the sword beside her. Adora screamed in pain as she was knocked to the floor of their hut, body instinctively curling into the fetal position in a desperate attempt to protect itself. 

“Adora!” It was all Catra could do to hold Adora through it as she jerked against the magic. Eventually it passed, and Adora used the sword to leverage herself shakily to a standing position. She took a moment to catch her breath before she started moving to the exit of their house. “Where are you going?!” Catra yelled over the sounds of the magical lightning storm streaking across the sky.

Adora switched the sword back to its gauntlet form and secured it on her wrist, briefly cutting off the power flowing into it as she caught her breath. “The Crystal Castle. I have to try and make Light Hope see reason. Or I’ll have to do something drastic.” She made to swing out of the hut, but glowing energy suddenly surrounded her and the gauntlet again, locking all of her muscles and causing her to fall from the platform to the ground. Adora let out a cry of pain at the impact.

“Adora!” Catra leapt down beside her. “Adora are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Adora grunted. “I need to get to Light Hope.”

Catra helped her to her feet. “I’m coming with you,” she decided.

But Adora immediately shook her head. “No! You need to find Glimmer! She’ll have taken Scorpia to the Black Garnet to start all this. You have to get her to stop!”

“I am not leaving you!”

“Catra, please!” Adora pulled Catra into a hug. “Please. For me,” she murmured into her ear. Clawed hands slowly relaxed their hold on her hips. “This isn’t like last time - I’ll be okay.”

“Promise?” Catra whispered.

“I promise.”

Another jolt of energy struck Adora, and she cried out as the gauntlet clattered from her wrist and transformed back into the sword when it hit the ground. The magic seemed to be focusing into the gem on the hilt. Whimpering, Adora slowly grabbed the sword and levered herself to her feet with Catra’s help. 

“Adora, I don’t want to leave you like this,” she tried one last time.

Eyes filled with understanding gazed back into her own. “I know,” Adora said. She pulled Catra in, letting their noses brush against each other before placing the gentlest kiss she could on Catra’s forehead. This wouldn’t be the last they saw of each other. They didn’t end here. “But please,” she whispered, “make sure our friends make it out of this alive. I can do this, Catra.”

“Okay.” Catra let go of Adora, no matter that it took all her strength to do so. “I’ll see you soon.” It almost sounded like a threat.

Adora chuckled. “Counting on it.”

* * *

Stumbling to the Crystal Castle was one of the hardest things Adora had ever done. The magic coursing through the sword and subsequently into her was like a raging inferno mixed with lightning, more painful than a thousand of Shadow Weaver’s brainwashings. Still, Adora tripped on, barely keeping her feet under her as she gasped out the password to get in. “Light Hope!” she called, finally falling to her knees.

“Adora.” The hologram appeared in front of her. “It is time. Etheria at last is in balance. The planet can fulfill its final purpose.”

“But the whole planet. The universe!” Adora gasped out, clutching at her ribs. Her chest hurt so _bad_. “Everyone will die! Don’t you care about that?”

Light Hope tilted her head, observing Adora dispassionately. “I, too, must fulfill my purpose.”

“Mara trusted you once!” Adora shouted. “You were her friend! You remember her?”

“Mara.”

“Yeah. I’ve seen the memories. If you let the Heart of Etheria activate, everything she fought for will have been for nothing!”

“Mara - Heart of Etheria - activate - Mara.” Light Hope glitched in and out, as if warring with herself. “Bring balance.”

Adora stared at the sword, desperately trying to think of how Mara could have broken the connection to it. She’d told Adora that she would have to give up She-Ra if Etheria were to ever find balance. That otherwise she would play part in the planet’s destruction. 

She wouldn’t be used. 

Never again.

“Adora. Please.” Adora looked up to see Light Hope looking at her already, a softer look on her face than Adora had ever seen. “Stop me,” the program requested quietly. 

Sever her connection to the sword? Alright. She was sick of being She-Ra anyway.

Spinning the sword point down, Adora _slammed_ it into the metal flooring with all the strength of She-Ra. A crack ran up the flat of the blade and energy flooded out from the sword, blasting into Adora and sending her flying. Her back collided with the wall with a sickening crunch before she slid limply to the floor.

“Thank you.”

Light Hope’s whisper was the last thing Adora heard before everything went black.


	19. Chapter 19

Rough shaking pulled Adora to wakefulness. “...dora. Adora. Adora!”

Adora groaned painfully and carefully blinked her eyes open. She was in the dark, and - Bow was kneeling beside her? “What ‘appened?” she muttered, rubbing her aching head. She was going to have a knot on the back of it. Why was it dark? “Bow? Where’s Catra?” She was supposed to go find her after she stopped Light Hope. She promised.

Bow’s face blanched as he debated something. 

“Where is Catra, Bow?”

“She -” He hesitated. “She was trying to stop Glimmer, and they got into a fight. Scorpia said they both looked okay the last time she saw them, but then there was this - green light - and it teleported both of them and we think Hordak onto a spaceship. I think it’s the army Shadow Weaver warned us about two years ago. I think it’s here Adora.”

Catra was - gone? 

But - she promised. Adora promised that she would find her, that she wouldn’t get hurt this time, but now Catra was gone? That wasn’t how it was supposed to go. “S-she can’t be. Catra has to be here; I need her. You’re wrong Bow. You have to be wrong.”

“Adora I’m sorry. I wish I was, but Catra and Glimmer have both been abducted and we need to figure out what to do next. The rest of the Princess Alliance took Scorpia back to Bright Moon - she’s got super weird red lightning powers now - we can regroup with them there,” Bow decided. “And Entrapta seems to have a pretty good idea of how to fly Darla, so with She-Ra, maybe we have a shot of getting them back?”

Dread that began at the mention of red lightning sank deeper into Adora. After a year of wanting She-Ra to go away, she’d finally rid herself of the warrior just in time for her to be absolutely necessary. “I don’t have her anymore,” Adora muttered. “I had to break our connection to stop the Heart from fully activating. You heard Mara - it was the only way.”

Bow frowned, his eyes squinting as he tried to come up with another solution. “We’ll figure out something else,” he promised. “We’ll get Catra back, Adora. I _promise_. And Glimmer. I bet you they’ll have made up and be best of friends again by the time we find them,” he said in an optimistic tone that just didn’t hit the way it usually did, like he didn’t quite believe himself either. Adora followed him out of the defunct Crystal Castle, feet dragging from exhaustion. 

What was she going to do?

* * *

Being without Catra was...torture. In Adora’s memory, real and fake, they’d never been separated for more than a few hours at a time except for the terrifying day when Shadow Weaver had kidnapped Catra two years ago. Without her now, Adora was adrift, lost with no compass. No Catra, and no She-Ra, she was useless.

Horde Prime had made his big proclamation, claiming Etheria as his dominion and leaving his clones to do his conquering for him. Seeing hundreds of Hordak lookalikes roaming freely around the countryside was not conducive to Adora making any kind of progress on reconnecting to She-Ra. Her anxiety shot through the roof anytime she came across one. 

Not to mention she wasn’t even being allowed to fight. All the princesses and Bow were stepping in whenever she tried to face off with one of them, never mind that she’d been a very competent soldier before she’d ever found the sword in the Woods, living with Catra. Everyone thought that without She-Ra, she was just a liability. They didn’t understand that she _had_ to do something while they worked on making Darla spaceworthy.

Adora grunted and rolled over on her cot violently, avoiding closing her eyes. Sleep was impossible to come by without Catra too. She had over a decade of listening to Catra’s soothing purrs and mewls that her best friend swore up and down she didn’t make, and the pounding silence that came instead each night now kept Adora sleepless. 

Giving up with a huff, Adora clambered off the cot and wandered out toward the nearest fire amongst the circle of tents that had become the Rebellion’s home after Bright Moon fell to the Horde the week before. She dropped to the ground with a groan as various gashes pulled and ached, just more evidence of her ongoing failure. She-Ra could have healed them in a moment. She-Ra probably wouldn’t have gotten injured at all. 

“I’m sorry,” Adora muttered to the dying flames after a few minutes of brooding silence. “Sorry I told you that everything would be fine if we split up, sorry I wasted the last year caught up in my head when I should have stayed focused on you, sorry for all the times I scared you because I’m me. If this is what it felt like for you, then I was a terrible best friend and partner.” She could almost feel Catra’s purrs and heavy breaths against her chest, could almost hear her calling Adora a dummy but that she was forgiven. 

First Ones, she missed her so much.

“Adora, you doing alright honey?” 

Adora’s head shot up to see Spinnerella coming out of the tent she was sharing with her wife. “Fine,” she replied, knowing Spinnerella would never buy it. She and Netossa may have been gone for most of the last year, keeping the Rebellion together in the outreaches of the kingdom, but Adora still wouldn’t be able to slip anything by either of them. “I just - wanted to talk to her,” she admitted when Spinnerella sat down next to her, offering a hand. “I miss her,” Adora sniffed.

“Oh, honey I know you do,” Spinnerella murmured. She drew Adora closer, letting her rest her head on her shoulder. “And I know she misses you - I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of you without the other. But Bow told me Entrapta is getting closer to narrowing down the flagship’s signal, and you’ll be able to leave soon to go after them. That’s good, right?”

“What if she - what if -?” Adora couldn’t finish. Arms quickly wrapped around her, one hand cradling the back of her head as Adora burst into tears. “I can’t,” she cried. “I _need_ her. And I’m not even She-Ra. I can’t help with the war on Etheria, and what if I can’t help her when we find her? What if she’s not even - what if I can’t find her? I never should have let her go to the Fright Zone alone. She shouldn’t ever be alone Spinnerella. I don’t care if the world would have ended. I don’t care. I should have been with her, protected her.”

Spinnerella let Adora cry for a bit, hushing her gently and giving Netossa a smile when she sleepily crawled out of their tent and plopped down on Adora’s other side with an almost inaudible, grumpy grumble. “Adora, you couldn’t have known,” Spinnerella reassured her when Adora had calmed. “You’re still so young, and there’s been too much responsibility placed on your shoulders, and I’m sorry there isn’t someone to take it from you.”

“At this point _anyone_ would be better than me,” Adora muttered.

“Now you knock that off, kiddo,” Netossa jumped in, nudging the teen. “I know we missed a lot, being gone so much for the last bit, and maybe you didn’t have as many people in your corner as you should’ve. But I don’t want you believing any of that nonsense Glimmer said to you. Don’t give me that look,” she said when Adora’s eyes shot up in surprise. “You know Bow - bless him, but that boy can’t keep his mouth shut. We know all about the arguments, and the blame, and everything else. And I don’t want to hear another word from you that sounds like something Glimmer might have said. That kid’s been grieving as much as anyone, but that doesn’t give her an excuse to be cruel to her friends. Alright, kid?”

Adora nodded minutely, letting Spinnerella pull her back in for another hug. She’d missed them, and they in no way made up for Catra’s absence, but at least she wasn’t alone. Maybe she could keep it together long enough to save Catra.

And then maybe she’d finally get to tell her.

* * *

It took Entrapta another two endless feeling weeks to get Darla to a working order where the scientist was fairly confident the ship wouldn’t explode if flown into the vacuum of space. Or at least - Entrapta said enough things to make Bow reasonably confident they wouldn’t immediately die if they went to space.

Even as all of her soul yearned to immediately go after Prime’s flagship, Adora hesitated to leave the Rebellion without _every_ leader they’d had in the last three years. But Spinnerella and Netossa stepped in, encouraging Adora to leave and trust them and the other princesses to hold it together long enough for Adora and Bow to bring their general and queen back.

Netossa pulled Bow aside before they left and warned him about keeping an eye on Adora. “She’s not taking care of herself. Acting recklessly.”

“I know,” Bow sighed. “But you know what trying to stop Adora is like when she’s being stubborn. Only Catra can get her to budge, and we’re short one catgirl.”

“Do your best. Spinny’s worried the girl’s going to get herself killed before you guys ever get a shot at rescuing Catra because Adora isn’t going to care that she can’t access She-Ra right now. She’s going to charge blindly in the second she gets a hint that Catra is nearby. Not to mention what she’ll do if Catra really is - gone,” she finished after a long hesitation. 

Bow flinched, which made Netossa feel bad, but it had to be said. “If - if that happens, I’ll try. But I think Adora’s already prepared for that, uh, situation.”

“What are you talking about?”

It seemed like Bow _really_ didn’t want to finish his thought, and was regretting saying anything at all, but Netossa forced him. “I’m worried this will be a one way trip for her if Catra isn’t - alive - when we find her,” he admitted. “She hasn’t said anything to me, or anyone really, but all she really ever talks about now is how she needs Catra. If Catra’s really gone, Adora will do whatever is necessary to take down Prime. She won’t care what it does to her.”

Netossa sighed and rubbed at her eyes frustratedly. “This is why Spinny tried to encourage them to branch out, make more friends, when they first got here. So losing one wouldn’t mean losing the other. But I think we got to them too late. They’re practically the same person at this point - it happens when you have literally no one else in the world to love you. The way they grew up - with the abuse, neglect, the military training - and then top it all off by being utterly alone for five years with no one but each other? What they have goes beyond friendship - beyond family. They’re always going to be absolutely dependent on each other, so we just have to do our best to make sure that _when_ you get Catra back, we don’t lose one of them like this again. And hope they can learn to keep that dependency healthy as they get older. Otherwise this will just keep happening. It doesn’t help at all that the idiots are head over heels for each other and neither of them will say it. And this is not totally on you either, Bow. We want all four of you kids to come home. Got it?”

“Understood.” Bow saluted, making Netossa shake her head ruefully.

“If my hair wasn’t already white, it would be after everything you four have got up to.”

* * *

It was a somber-faced Bow that boarded the spaceship with Adora and Entrapta the next morning. Adora had some kind of purpose to her movements for the first time in weeks, eager to get underway and finally start tracking down the Horde. 

“I’m coming, Catra,” she promised under her breath as Entrapta got Darla warmed up. “I’m coming.”

Horde Prime was going to rue the day he dared to steal the most important person on Etheria. Adora would make sure of it. She-Ra or no.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra's side of things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last week there was just too much going on with the election and everything else that happened, I couldn't work up the energy to post. I'm in one of the swing states that went blue and it was just - insanity on Saturday.

Catra woke up in her cell for the sixth time. She wasn’t sure if it had been six days, less, more - it was impossible to tell the shifting time. It didn’t even feel like meals were brought at regular times, so she couldn’t use that to keep track. They always came while she was asleep - probably because she clawed up the face of the clone that brought her food the first time. Their mistake for taking down the force field of her cell without keeping an eye on her. They were just asking for it at that point.

She’d half expected to be killed for damaging the clone, but there’d been no response except her meals being left only when she was sleeping. The lack of interaction was slowly driving her crazy - she hadn’t been alone in years. Ever.

Glimmer didn’t count. Catra was still infuriated with her for her behavior over the last year. Glimmer had spoken to _her_ plenty in the last few ‘days’, trying to get her to talk, but Catra was steadfastly ignoring her presence. They were going to have to eventually figure out a way to escape, and Catra would _probably_ forgive her someday for the way she’d treated Adora - as long as she groveled _heavily_ and actually did something to convince Catra she would never hurt Adora again - but this moment was not that moment.

“You can’t ignore me forever.”

Speak of the devil. Catra rolled her eyes but didn’t otherwise react. She wouldn’t give Glimmer the satisfaction of getting a response from her, no matter what the queen said. 

“Look. I’m sorry, okay? I messed up. A lot. But if we don’t work together and get out of here, we’ll never see our friends again.”

She was going to have to try a lot harder than that. Catra wasn’t royalty, but she was a queen at holding grudges, and they were fresh out of people around besides Glimmer so she was getting all her focus. 

“What is it going to take Catra? You can still be angry with me when we get home, but could you grow up for five minutes so we can _get_ home?!”

Oh, she was _so_ not getting Catra’s attention now.

“Little sister - our brother will speak with you.”

The voices of two Hordak clones in unison had Catra shooting to attention, fur on end. How had they snuck up on her so easily? As she was led away, Catra couldn’t help looking back to meet Glimmer’s gaze for the first time since they’d torn the Fright Zone apart fighting each other. Glimmer’s eyes were worried, a frown marring her expression. 

Catra fought to control her breathing once she was completely alone with the Hordak mimics. First Ones, she wanted Adora. She didn’t even know if Adora was still alive, or if she’d managed to stop the Heart. Though, given the universe still existed, Catra was pretty sure she’d succeeded.

Adora better not have gotten herself killed saving the world. She’d promised. If Catra got home to find Adora had been her idiotic sacrificial self, she’d dig her up and kill her again. And then maybe die herself. That wouldn’t be overdramatic at all, would it? 

The room she was led to was almost like Hordak’s sanctum back on Etheria, except an alien green and stark white compared to the clone’s grungy steel and red lights. Catra hated this more than the Fright Zone already. Who knew she would ever miss the Horde base? At least there were places to _hide_ there.

“Ah, Catra. Thank you for joining me.”

“Not like I had much choice,” Catra muttered under her breath, hoping the man sitting on what could only be described as a throne couldn’t hear her. Horde Prime was just as intimidating as when he’d greeted her and Glimmer to his ship before promptly having them thrown into cells so he could deal with his only self-named clone. The screams that followed them out still haunted Catra’s sleep. “Why did you pull me out here and not Glimmer too?” she asked in a louder voice.

“Because what I have to offer is for you and you alone.” Prime was nonchalant on his throne, knowing he had all the power in their situation. Catra was worried if she sassed him he’d just have her summarily executed.

“And - what is that?”

“I offer you your salvation. Graciously. All you must do is work with me as I require.”

“What makes you think I would ever turn against my people?” Catra asked cautiously. She was treading on such thin ice, but this was the best - only - opportunity she’d gotten to sneak around and maybe find an escape route since they got here. _If_ that is what Prime was offering.

Image after image appeared - Adora fighting bots by herself, Glimmer screaming at Adora, the princesses arguing over the best course of action to take with the Heart, Glimmer doing magic in the gardens with Shadow Weaver. Every moment that had made Catra seethe with anger in the last year. “My wayward clone did _so_ love his toy spying drones,” Prime said magnanimously. “Especially after his little portal fiasco that drew my attention to your backwater planet. I was on my way to my little brother already, but your queen made it just too easy for me with that stunt she pulled with the Heart of Etheria.”

Cold fear washed over Catra. Prime knew about the Heart - what it could do. “She’s not my queen,” she muttered, keeping up the facade.

“So you have made very clear. Both you and - Adora, was it?” He saw Catra’s eyes widen and chuckled. “Why do you continue to abase yourself in servitude to the little princess then?”

Catra thought quickly. “What do I get if I help you?” she dared to ask.

A sinister smile crossed Prime’s face. “You mean besides letting your insignificant life continue? I will grant you - Adora. That is what you want, is it not? To be with Adora? I know all about your past under my little brother’s care. Quite the thorn in his side, but no matter. He will have no such worries any longer, now that I have welcomed him back into the fold.”

“How did you do that?”

“Reconditioning. A simple matter, when you have ruled for millennia as I have. I know how to crush a rebellion at its first hintings of a whisper, child. Your love’s people were hardly a trifle. I razed their worlds a thousand years ago. How annoying it is to find your work...incomplete. And to have that leftover parasite embody the ancient warrior She-Ra herself. How... _quaint_.”

What _didn’t_ he know? And what did he want with her? And Prime had caused the downfall of the First Ones? The civilization they had feared most? Did they even stand a chance against him? “Would I just be bait, then? To get She-Ra to come to you so you can kill her? Because I’ll die first, thanks very much. You can just get it over with now.”

“Quite the opposite, child. Unlike your little queen, I can actually make use of She-Ra. For a time, at least. The warrior - your Adora - _will_ come for you, make no mistake. She will have the honor of fighting for me in exchange for you. And you - well, you certainly have a mind for war. Perhaps…” he seemed to consider something briefly for a moment before shaking his head. “I am not in need of a new vessel quite yet, but perhaps in time. You intrigue me.” Catra didn’t quite get what he was talking about but shuddered in disgust, which made Prime chuckle again. “You are free to wander this ship, child. I seem to recall you like dark spaces - seek them out, if you wish. You will be retrieved when I have need of you.”

“What about Glimmer?”

“I will not have need of her much longer.” The ominous words stuck with Catra long after the clones led her away from Prime’s sanctum and left her alone in an empty hallway.

* * *

“Listen up.” 

“Oh, are you acknowledging that I exist again now that you’re free?” Glimmer muttered.

Catra rapped on the force field. “I am, because we have a much bigger problem than your immaturity and cruelty. Now get over here, because I need Prime to think I’m gloating and you need to _listen_ , so keep that angry face on. He’s got spies everywhere.” Looking a little more intrigued, Glimmer approached the other side of the wall so they were as close as they could get. “Prime’s whole plan is to use me to lure Adora here so he can force She-Ra to fight for him. He took out the First Ones centuries ago, and I think he’s a bit peeved that Adora and whoever her family was must have escaped his massacre. He wants to finish the job and use me to do it.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“We have to figure out how to get you out of this cell first. I think he’s going to lord his victory over you for a while, maybe even keep you alive long enough to watch Etheria fall, but after that I don’t think he plans on _retaining_ you.” Catra leaned up against the field with one arm, careful to keep up the facade when all she wanted was to drop her head and cry a little bit at the thought of Adora dying because she tried to rescue Catra. Because she was _absolutely_ going to try and rescue her. Catra knew her too well. 

At least with all the talking Prime had done, Catra got the impression that Adora was still alive. Prime would have gotten a report that the mighty She-Ra had been disposed of if she was dead. And Catra probably would have been dead if Prime didn’t have a reason to keep her around. 

“Hey. Catra. Take a deep breath, okay?” Glimmer coached gently. Catra hadn’t even noticed her rising panic. She obeyed, trying to calm herself down. They couldn’t afford for her to lose it over Adora being in danger. Catra had to worry about them first. “There you go,” Glimmer praised. “We’re still alright.”

“For now,” Catra scoffed, hitting the force field. “He’s going to kill us, Glimmer. He’s going to destroy our world. Everything we did - everything _Adora_ did to keep us safe - it’s going to be for nothing.”

Glimmer put her palm up to Catra’s fist as if to hold it. “No it won’t. You’re the most clever person I know, Catra. If anyone can get us out of this, it’s you.”

“Where was that trust six months ago? Or two weeks ago?” Catra couldn’t help but spit back.

Glimmer hung her head, ashamed. “I haven’t been a good friend lately, or a good person,” she admitted. “I thought I was doing what was necessary after we lost Mom but - all I did was hurt everyone I claimed to care about. And Catra, when we get out of here, I’m going to spend a lot of time making it up to you and Adora. I promise. I’m so sorry.”

It wasn’t enough. Not yet. But it would have to be enough for now, because princesses or no, the Rebellion wouldn’t last long without a queen. 

* * *

Catra was watching explosions on the alien planet hanging below them when a clone came to fetch her. “Lord Prime desires your presence at his evening meal tonight. You may have the privilege of retrieving our other guest.”

“Sure,” she muttered without looking at him and stalked off toward the prison hall.

“You know what I miss most about Etheria?” Glimmer asked when Catra moved into sight. She was sitting with her back against the force field, head tilted to rest against it. “The sleepovers Bow and I had when we were kids. We pretended we were breaking the rules, staying up so late and ‘stealing’ the cake I know my mom had the cooks leave out for us. I miss the innocence of all that, before I really knew about the war.”

Catra slid down the force field so they were sitting back to back. “We used to have sleepovers. Adora and I. Back in the Horde.”

Glimmer huffed out a tiny chuckle. “You still have sleepovers now. Every night. Sometimes Bow and I are invited.”

“No, I _know_ that,” Catra growled. “I just meant - in the Horde. When we weren’t allowed to have _friends_ , or barely even teammates, Adora chose me. We always stuck together. Sometimes I think the only reason I survived that place was because of her protecting me.”

“Beyond the obvious reasons, what do you mean?” Glimmer asked curiously. Even after so many stories from both Catra and Adora over the years, it was hard to imagine such terrible things happening to _children_ , given the way her mother had raised her. The way Angella had _loved_ her.

“I don’t really remember it, we were so little, but I think when I first came to the Horde, I must have been - two...three years old. Maybe. And I think I didn’t pass muster for Hordak and Shadow Weaver. She always did call me a runt when we were young, in between ‘pet’ and ‘rabid animal’. I remember being so, _so_ scared, and then this girl with a tiny little blonde ponytail picked me up and said I was hers, because our ‘tails’ matched.” Catra laughed at the memory. “She was an idiot even back then. But Adora’s the only reason the Horde kept me around. I don’t even want to know what they do to the _toddlers_ they don’t think will grow up strong.” Both girls shuddered. 

Silence reigned for a long minute as Glimmer pondered what Catra had said. “I _am_ sorry, Catra. For the way I acted. For letting Shadow Weaver influence me against both of you. I knew how bad she was because of your guys’ stories, but I still fell for her lies.”

“You owe Adora an apology more than you do me. And I _am_ going to make sure you survive long enough to give it to her,” Catra said firmly. “She deserves that much, at least.”

“I will.” Another pause, like neither of them really knew what to say next, how to keep the awkward conversation going as they tried to restart their friendship. “How have you been, anyway? There’s always been a lot of focus on Adora - she can get pretty anxious, I know - but how are you doing without her?” Glimmer asked, cautious of upsetting Catra further.

How _was_ she doing? That was a question Catra had been avoiding asking herself since the first time she woke up in a cell. How did she tell Glimmer about the hole aching in her chest that used to be full of Adora’s voice? Her laugh, her pretty eyes, her hugs. How did she tell Glimmer that the hurt grew with every minute they were apart? That she was scared she’d never get the chance to tell Adora everything she’d been holding back for years, not because she feared a poor response, but because she knew neither of them were ready? 

“I’ve been better,” she finally admitted. “I’m not going to like, break down sobbing or whatever, Sparkle Toes,” she ignored Glimmer’s huff of indignation, “but I’m not a liar either. I don’t know how to explain but I can’t - _exist_ , without Adora. There isn’t a life where I don’t have Adora. Believe me, I’ve tried picturing it. If we hadn’t escaped the Horde, if she found the sword without me and left me for her ‘destiny’ or some stupid thing like that. If she pulled an idiotic stunt and got herself killed trying to save the world or worse, save me. Feels like I’ve spent half my life trying to save Adora from herself. But that’s just Adora.” She was glad Glimmer couldn’t see the unbearably fond smile on her face. She’d never live it down. “She’s so brave, even when she’s terrified. She makes me brave. And I know she wouldn’t let me give up if she was here, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m going to get us out of this Sparks.”

“I believe you.”

* * *

The meal with Prime was - horrifying. The only good thing was that the drone footage proved once and for all that Adora had been alive. At least a few days ago she had been. Then Prime let something slip about a centuries old Eternian ship with a near impossible to track signal moving through space. 

_Adora_.

Adora was coming for her. 

She just had to hang on and do her best to get Glimmer out. Prime wasn’t going to let them go so easily. Glimmer, maybe - he didn’t really seem to care about the queen so much, but Catra he was interested in. Catra winced and poked at the gelatinous food on the plate with her fork. The last thing she wanted was to be _interesting_ to a genocidal maniac bent on universal domination.

But it meant that it’d be a hard time getting them both out, and the Rebellion needed Glimmer. Her leadership, her powers, they were unparalleled on Etheria with Angella gone. Catra was just a tactician, and Glimmer had learned everything she needed to know from Catra about winning a war in the last three years. Catra was expendable at this point.

To everyone except Adora.

That was the sticking point. Adora would _never_ let her go quietly. Adora would _die_ before she let Catra go, and Catra knew it. So she would have to take the choice out of Adora’s hands before she could get involved. Which meant she had to act _now_. 

The rest of the dinner was awful and awkward and Catra was antsy for it to end. Finally, they were dismissed by Prime: Glimmer back to her cell and Catra to wherever she decided to wander next. Prime still seemed to think that Catra was going to aid him in his conquest for her own self interest. Showed what he knew.

Catra followed the clone escorting Glimmer, stalking from the shadows. When they reached the correct hallway for her plans, she leapt and bashed his head into the wall before shoving him into a room and locking the door. “We’re leaving. Now.” Catra grabbed a bewildered Glimmer by the wrist and yanked her down the adjacent hallway.

“Did you forget that we’re in the middle of nowhere in space and can’t actually go _anywhere_?” Glimmer huffed even as she ran alongside Catra.

Catra rolled her eyes. Really - _princesses_. Always needed their hands held before they got it. She might call Adora a dummy, but she was usually much quicker on the uptake than any of their other friends when Catra got another crazy idea. “I stumbled on what I’m pretty sure was a transport room the other day when Prime let me wander. Got a good look at the controls before a couple clones kicked me out and said I wasn’t allowed in. I think it’s like a teleport - like you, but science instead of magic. I get the feeling Prime isn’t too fond of magic. You’ll want to look into that if you can.” She ushered Glimmer inside the correct room and had her bar the door while she got to work on the controls. Thank First Ones Hordak’s Fright Zone tech all mimicked Prime’s, otherwise this escape plan would have been stalled before it started. “Okay Glimmer, get in that circle on the ground. Pretty sure that’s the launch point.”

Glimmer obeyed, but then hesitated. “Wait. Catra, what about you?” Transparent green shields rose up in front of her before Glimmer could leave the transport pad. 

“Me?” Catra paused like it hadn’t even occurred to her. “You can’t let Adora come for me, Sparks.” Her whole expression softened as she thought of Adora and her heroics. “She’ll try - First Ones know she’ll try - but please. Do this one thing for me Glimmer.”

Glimmer shook her head almost violently. “No, Catra! No, we’re not leaving you here!” She tried with all her might to teleport to her friend’s side, but the Moonstone was much too far away - their connection had been severed for weeks. 

Ignoring Glimmer’s shouts, Catra found the nearly hidden signal in the stars and patched a message through. Who said listening to Entrapta ramble for three years didn’t have benefits? “Adora! Adora are you there?”

“Catra?” Adora’s voice warbling through was the best thing Catra had heard in her life. “Catra is that you? Where are you?”

“On Horde Prime’s ship.” Beating fists against the doors alerted her to the clones’ arrival at last. “Listen to me Adora there’s no time,” she said more urgently. “I’m sending Glimmer to you.”

Crackling, then - “Glimmer? What? Catra, what about -”

“I don’t know where you are exactly but I can get her close,” Catra spoke over Adora as the doors began to crack open and sent the location she was using digitally. “Adora. You _have_ to be at these coordinates in time to catch her.” 

The first clone broke through, and Catra was torn away from the controls right before she could send Glimmer. Adora was yelling, though Catra didn’t catch anything beyond her own name. But she could guess what Adora was saying. She headbutted the clone holding her from behind and bit a second that was holding one arm before clawing viciously across his face. Only restrained by one more clone, Catra lunged for the control panel.

“Adora listen!” she grunted with effort, kicking a clone away. “The Rebellion can’t lose another queen. I’m sorry! But this is the only way I can save you.” She pushed the lever up that would send Glimmer to their friends. Glimmer disappeared in a green flash as the remaining clones recovered their senses. Catra was thrust against the control panel, cracking the surface. Adora’s frantic yells were cut off abruptly as the lights faded, severing the last connection Catra would ever have with her. The loss shot through her heart even more than their weeks of separation already had, and Catra realized just what it was she’d been missing. “I love you,” she murmured sadly before she was finally hauled away.

She knew she’d never get another chance to say it.

* * *

Bow pulled Glimmer in without much stress the minute she arrived, Adora helping to haul them back into Mara’s ship. The reunited pair collapsed in the halls of the ship, and Adora couldn’t help the anger building inside her chest. She was so relieved to have Glimmer back, no matter their issues over the last almost year, but Catra…

Catra had sacrificed herself for Glimmer.

“Why you?” Adora whispered, unable to keep it locked inside. Guilt tore through her, but she couldn’t hold back the anger anymore. “Why could she only send you?”

Glimmer shakily got to her feet, still holding Bow’s hand. “Adora, she - I tried to stop her. I promise. Catra asked - she asked me to keep you from going after her.”

The scoff Adora let out sounded more like a sob. “Of course. Of. _Course_. Because why would we ever get to have what _we_ want? What am I supposed to do? Just leave Catra to die alone out here?!” she built up to a scream. Her hands were shaking, but Catra wasn’t there to hold them steady. Adora clenched them into fists instead. “No,” she hissed. “Darla?”

“Yes Administrator?”

“Set a course for Horde Prime’s flagship.” Hard, emotionless eyes dropped back down to Glimmer and Bow. “We’re going after her.” It was an order, not a request.

“Adora, I -”

“Glimmer?” Adora interrupted her, one hand on the automatic door. She couldn’t - _couldn’t_ deal with this right now. She just _couldn’t_. “There’s only one thing you need to understand. If she dies because she saved you - after the way you treated us, how you hurt us - we’re _done_. If I lose Catra because of you, I will still do my best to save Etheria, but we will be _done_. That’s all you need to know.”

The door slid closed without a sound. Adora hadn’t looked her in the eyes once.

Glimmer could hear the sobs that started up seconds later. Giving Adora privacy, she wandered to the bridge where Bow had gone back to piloting. He gave her a tight smile - obviously she was going to be in trouble with him too. “How did I get it so wrong?” she murmured almost to herself. “I thought I knew what I was doing - I tried to do everything as good as my mom, but instead I almost did the Horde’s job for them. It’s _my_ fault Prime found us, my fault the planet was almost destroyed, my fault Catra is alone. And if she dies, that will be my fault too.” She dropped her face into her hands. “What did I do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Save the Cat is indeed next


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Save the Cat is honestly one of the most perfectly scripted episodes of television I've ever seen, from the sequence of events to even the cadence of the conversations. As such, you will clearly recognize the actions following. The dialogue and thought processes are what's important in this. I hope ya'll like my version, I've been writing and subtly changing this chapter since probably June - it was one of the first things I wrote for the fic after starting it, and really the reason I went beyond just Adora and Catra's escape from the Horde in this fic. So, yeah. This one's making me nervous 'cause I love it a lot and I hope you guys do too.

Getting captured by Horde Prime’s clones was the easiest part of the plan. Adora didn’t breathe until she heard the other three confirm that they had indeed survived their jaunt in space. They were immediately chattering away as they wandered the ship, but Adora largely tuned them out. Her sole focus was Catra.

The bridge laid over an abyss of black, leading to a singular platform that supported a throne and large, multi-monitor screen system. Tubes filled with green fluid were connected to what could only be Horde Prime, sitting on the throne with his eyes closed and two clones assisting him with whatever was going on.

“Welcome….Adora.” Adora shivered at the sound of his voice. “Forgive my unseemly state. It is a tedious task, but a necessary one to maintain this vessel.”

Vessel. Like he wasn’t even attached to his body. It couldn’t be his first then, not with how long the Horde had been terrorizing the universe, allegedly. Adora tried to think like Catra - what would she do? Try to scratch all four of his eyes out, probably. Not really an option at the moment. “This is how it’s gonna go,” Adora said, copying Catra’s decisive tone. “You’re gonna give me Catra, and I won’t blast you out of existence with a weapon only I can control - the Heart of Etheria. I won’t destroy you and your empire for good.”

She hadn’t expected him to laugh in her face. It just made her angrier. “You are not going to use this weapon, Adora. You would never risk your Catra that way.”

“You don’t know what I’m capable of,” Adora lied.

“Oh, but I do. I am old, far older than you can imagine. And there is something so... _familiar_ about you Adora. A face I have not seen in a thousand years, since I subjugated your ancestors and crushed them beneath my heel. You call them the First Ones, do you not? And you _are_ one of them.” Prime grabbed her by the chin, forcing Adora’s to look into his eyes. She glared and jerked away. “However, more importantly, _Catra_ knows you - everything about you, Adora. Just as you do her, I imagine. Such a... _unique_ relationship the two of you share.”

“If you know so much,” Adora spat, “then you know that I won’t stop until I have her back - that nothing in the universe means more to me than her, so for the last time: Where. Is. _Catra_?”

“Adora?” 

Distracted instantly, she spun around the moment she heard Catra’s scared voice, frantically searching the darkness for her. “Catra?! Where are you?”

Prime’s laughter rang out once more, sending chills down Adora’s spine. “Of course, of course. _Your_ Catra. She hoped you would come for her while she was in that little cell - poor thing. It was perhaps the first mistake I’ve made in a millennium, thinking that all that anger could prove useful to me. That she was not so blindly devoted to you as you clearly are to her. Ah, well. All I had to do in the end was wait.” He beckoned with one hand. “Come here, child.”

Escorted by two clones, a small hooded figure in Prime’s colors appeared from behind Adora. Slipping the hood back revealed what Adora already knew. 

Catra.

Her eyes were the same unnatural green that was so prevalent on this ship, and her hair had been shorn to a length above her shoulders, revealing a metallic chip implanted in the nape of her neck, tendrils embedding themselves in her skin. 

“Hello, Adora.” 

Her voice was _wrong_. Passive and blissful and _wrong_. Everything about this was wrong.

“CATRA!” Adora darted forward, but was grabbed by two clones and slammed into a kneeling position on the tiled floor. “What did you do to her?!”

Catra walked past Adora like she didn’t even see her and knelt into a bow before Horde Prime, cheek pressed to the floor behind her bent arm in subjugation. Adora fumed and jerked against the clones’ hold on her. Catra didn’t submit to _anyone_ , not even when she had been wrong about something. She barely even managed to apologize to _Adora_ sometimes, though she was infinitely better with her than anyone else.

“I have made her anew. I saw her mind -” Prime reached out to help Catra to her feet, and she turned to look at Adora for the first time, those eerie green eyes shining with perfect and sinister beneficence. “- so ensnared with grief and loss and _love_...and I brought her to the light. Isn’t that right, little sister?” 

Adora yanked again but couldn’t escape the Horde clones. “She doesn’t belong to you! Catra, you have to fight it! Please! For me.” She couldn’t, _wouldn’t_ be too late for Catra. 

“My place is with Horde Prime, Adora. I don’t want to leave. You should join me.”

"Your place is with _me_ Catra!"

Prime ignored her. “Tell her what I’ve done for you, child.”

“Horde Prime has given me peace. What we always dreamed of Adora. You could have it too. Your heart may be broken now, but he can make it whole again. Don’t you see? This is for the best. I’m happy here, _we_ could be happy here.”

Adora glared at Horde Prime with all the vitriol in her heart. He’d taken all their wishes and hopes and twisted them into words that were unrecognizable leaving Catra’s mouth. “Let. Her. _Go_ ,” she hissed.

Horde Prime smirked. “I’ll make you a deal, Adora. I will give your Catra to you, in return for...She-Ra. A fair deal for your beloved, no?”

Doing everything in her power to remain composed, Adora allowed just the corner of her mouth to quirk up. If that was the game he wanted to play, she’d learned the rules to it from Shadow Weaver long ago. “As if you’d give Catra to me even if I did.” The smile dropped. “No. You’ll _never_ have us.”

“Very well.” Prime didn’t seem surprised by her refusal. “But you’ve miscalculated. I see all - I _know_ all.” Anger crept into his voice for the first time, and the earpiece she was wearing to keep in contact with the others shorted out painfully. “You have done nothing but lead yourself and your friends to destruction.” He gripped Catra by the shoulder painfully, and she gasped. Her green eyes flickered briefly back to blue and yellow before fading to green again. Her gaze met Adora’s in that instant and Adora could see the apology in them.

Hope surged through Adora at the sight. Catra was still _in_ there. She could get them out of this. She-Ra was flickering under her skin - for the first time in weeks, Adora could feel her. Every inch of her wanted nothing more than to be able to bring her out, she was _so close_ , but to no avail. The warrior remained stubbornly out of reach. For the first time, Adora was regretting shattering the sword, even though it had saved Etheria in the moment. For the first time in years, she wanted She-Ra.

“Ah, well,” Prime sighed. “If you will do nothing, then I leave you to your beloved. I’m sure you have so much catching up to do. You haven’t spent a day apart in seven years, have you? Longer, even. Such a tender love you share,” he mocked. Adora snarled at him, but Prime was fully aware that she would do nothing to him while Catra was within range. “But there’s no place for that here, as my little sister has learned so well. She tried so hard to defy me, but in the end, it was fruitless. As your own insignificant defiance will be. Let me know when you’re ready to make a deal. We both understand how this will end.” He swooped out with his clones trailing behind him, smug in the knowledge that Adora would never be able to truly fight or defend herself against Catra, leaving the girls alone for Adora to be dealt with.

Adora rose to her feet, eyes never leaving those blank green pits that had taken over Catra’s. “Catra?”

Claws were unsheathed and Catra was flying at her in an instant. Adora dodged as best she could, grabbing Catra by the wrist and holding her in place. “Catra, _listen_ to me,” she pleaded. “I came for you; I _know_ you’re still in there. I’m not leaving without you ever again.” Catra pulled at the restraint on her arm, laughing and off in her own world. “It’s _okay_ ,” Adora soothed quietly and let her fingers pet at the fur on Catra’s arm, for just a moment allowing the relief at being able to touch her again. “I’m here. It’s gonna be okay.”

All the bones in Catra’s arm cracked horribly as she twisted out of Adora’s grip, flipped over her, and put Adora into a tight hold of her own. “Everything is already okay,” Catra murmured into her ear in that eerily calm voice so unlike her natural one. Adora shuddered. “We are with Prime now. There is no need for us to suffer Adora.” A clawed hand came up to caress her cheek, almost gentle. Adora flinched at the reminder of what she’d lost. What had been stolen from her. “Come into the light with me, my love.”

When they _finally_ said those words, they were supposed to belong to _them_. Not this - this _facsimile_ that Horde Prime had made as a replacement of Catra. Adora threw Catra over her shoulder, trying not to injure her too badly. Catra slammed into the bottom of the dais, a small crackle of electricity emitting from her neck as she laughed maniacally even as Adora winced. “ _Please_ Cat,” Adora begged. “This isn’t you. I’m here, I came for you! I won’t let him hurt you again.”

“But Horde Prime has already hurt me. And then he set me free of that pain. The pain that _you_ let him cause.” The words were like a dagger plunging into Adora’s heart. Catra knew all of her insecurities, all her fears, and Prime was using Catra to prey on them all too well. “But he will set us all free - forever. A world of peace without end. Isn’t that what we wanted, Adora?”

“Not like this, Catra!” Catra lunged at her from atop the dais, and Adora fell into a defensive stance, warding off blows as best she could while avoiding hurting Catra at all costs. She ended up throwing Catra over her hip a little too far, and she skidded on her typical bare feet toward the platform’s edge. “Catra!”

Catra looked over the lip, unconcerned, before giggling at the look of terror on Adora’s face. She took another step back, but Adora was there immediately to grab her and pull her bodily away from the edge, cradling Catra to her chest. Adora allowed herself to relax for just a moment, feeling Catra limp in her arms, before piercing pain shot through her back as Catra raked the claws of both hands between her shoulder blades and down the length of Adora’s back. Adora grunted, willing tears away. A knee slammed into her stomach and she was suddenly being held over the edge herself, only Catra’s one bloodied hand preventing her from falling into the darkness below.

“Oh, Adora,” two voices chuckled. “How long will you drag this _out_?” There was a strange white glow in the midst of unnatural green in Catra’s eyes now, and Prime spoke with her. “You will destroy the one you love in the process.” Her tight grip on Adora’s shirt never faltered as she held her over the edge of the platform. “She was afraid for you, in the end, and she suffered. Perhaps I will let you two be together when you finally submit. Though, she will unlikely last that long. What do _you_ think, Adora?” The voice faded back to Catra’s alone at the very end, twisting in Adora’s heart.

Desperate, Adora grabbed Catra’s arm and shoved them both fully back onto the platform, slamming Catra onto the dais behind her. There was that electricity again, at the nape of Catra’s neck, and her eyes flashed back to normal. Adora quickly cradled the back of her head, holding Catra close as she pulled her away from the fizzing monitors. “I’m never giving up on you Catra! I am getting you out of here!”

“Then you are a fool,” Catra rebuked her. “You cannot stop Horde Prime. He will reign triumphant over all the universe. It is - destiny.” 

Monitors began to shatter behind Catra, electricity zapping out from the chip in her neck. Catra cried out in pain, slumping. “ _NO_!” Adora yelled, scooping Catra into her arms and leaping away from the exploding monitors. She lifted herself from Catra’s body to see the chip still spitting electricity over her skin. Catra’s eyes fluttered open, their normal, _beautiful_ colors, and Adora gasped back tears.

“Adora,” Catra said in her real voice and nearly sent Adora crying again. “You should have - stayed _away_. Why did you come back? You’re the only one that matters.” She was panting, _hurting_ , and it tore at Adora’s heart.

She cupped Catra’s cheek with one hand and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “You _matter to_ **_me_** ,” she whispered harshly. “There is _nothing_ more important than you.” Catra swallowed hard, a small smile breaking across her face before she stiffened and her eyes went green again. “No no no - Catra!” 

Catra’s hand gripped her wrist, tossing Adora aside as she stood. Adore tried to reach out and hold her back, but Catra was already beyond her, slowly stumbling to the edge of the platform. The chip shocked her again and Catra let out a pained cry but kept walking.

Adora scrambled to her feet but she was afraid to get too close - that Prime might force Catra over the edge if Adora pressed too hard. “Catra!” she called desperately, arms out in a placating gesture. “You’ve never listened to anyone but me your whole life; are you _really_ going to change now?!”

That caught Catra’s attention. She turned back, eyes fading to blue and yellow once more. Tears were streaking down her face, and the smile she gave Adora was the saddest she’d ever seen from her. “You should have left me. You’re such an idiot,” she said, voice thick with her tears.

The familiar insult made Adora laugh despite herself. “Yeah, I know,” she said through her own tears. Catra laughed with her until her eyes slipped to green. In a final, desperate attempt, Adora held out her hand to the girl she loved more than the world. More than the universe. “I’m going to take you home!”

Catra’s claws were digging into her biceps as she wrestled for control one more time. “P-promise?” she asked weakly. 

“I _promise_!” 

They’d never broken their promises to each other. She _wasn’t_ going to start now.

“Adora…I -” The hand Catra reached out cracked and bent unnaturally and Catra straightened, the white glow again in her green eyes. “Disappointing,” she said clearly with a grimace. “I had hoped to use the both of you but alas. Some creatures are meant only for destruction.”

One last burst of electricity overwhelmed Catra’s body. She went stiff as a board and screamed, before her body suddenly slumped and she tumbled backward off the platform.

“ _CATRA_!” Adora leapt forward but was too late, only able to watch Catra disappear into the darkness of the abyss below. “ _NO_!” 

There wasn’t a decision to be made. Without hesitation, Adora threw herself off the platform after Catra. The metal of the landing below came up too quickly for Adora to brace, and the pain of bones crumpling was all she felt before the world went black.


	22. Chapter 22

Adora woke slowly, every inch of her body in pain. The platform she’d leapt from loomed dozens of feet above, mocking her for her failure. Remembering in a flash, Adora frantically scanned for Catra, finding her body lying broken and vulnerable only a few yards away. Adora tried to scramble to her feet, but her legs screamed in agony and gave out beneath her, sending her crashing to the floor again. Determined, she crawled the distance to the other girl. “Catra? _Catra_?” she whimpered. Flashes broke through her mind of every time she’d failed to protect the girl she loved - haunted by all the other times she’d never remember right, thanks to Shadow Weaver. “It’s okay,” she said through tears. “I’m here.”

Weak, fading breaths filled with pain were the only sign that Catra was still alive. Adora couldn’t hold tears back anymore. Sobbing, she pressed her face into the fur of Catra’s chest, praying for some miracle she didn’t think would come. Catra didn’t even smell like herself - none of the forest was in her scent. Instead she smelled of acid and fear and the after burn of electricity. Even as she cried, rage began to whip in Adora’s chest, taking the place of her fear. 

She was going to _burn_ Horde Prime out of the universe if it was the last thing she did.

_No one_ touched Catra. No one _hurt_ Catra. Not if they wanted to live to tell about it.

Numerous feet moved in the periphery of her vision, but Adora focused on Catra and her anger, tracking the number of clones approaching without lifting her head. 

“I am sorry for the needless waste Adora,” Prime’s smug voice spoke through one of his clones. “It did not have to be like this...Are you ready to cooperate?”

Everything went silent in Adora’s mind. Catra was still breathing - barely. Adora heard nothing but those tiny, almost silent inhales, and she focused. She pet the shorn hair on the back of Catra’s head - reassurance that she would keep her promise. They were going home. 

_She-Ra chose you, Adora_.

With Mara’s words ringing in her ears, She-Ra had never come to her so easily before - finally answering her call after so long remaining just out of reach. She stood, holding Catra securely in one arm. The familiar blue glow took over her eyes and she lifted her hand, instinctively knowing the sword would be there when she brought it back down. “For the honor. Of. _GRAYSKULL_!!”

Adora cradled Catra close to her body after the transformation. She felt her exhale. Dispatching the clones was the work of seconds, and she approached the last - he had the unmistakable white glow of Prime’s mental presence. 

“ _You miscalculated_ ,” she said without emotion before abruptly cutting the feed. 

* * *

Returning to Darla and disposing of the clones that got in her way was embarrassingly easy. She left Catra in the care of Bow and Glimmer and set about piloting their escape. “Make it quick,” she ordered Darla.

“Affirmative.”

“Adora,” Bow called her quietly. He and Glimmer were both holding Catra, looking down at her with grief in their eyes. 

Catra wasn’t moving. Wasn’t _breathing_.

Being She-Ra provided a certain barrier to the emotions of her true self, but the painful agony that sliced through her was all Adora. She knelt and carefully pulled Catra’s body into her arms, praying for a sign from her - anything. “Come on Catra,” she pleaded in a whisper. “We’re not done - not yet.” Adora closed her eyes and dropped her forehead to press against Catra’s, kissing between her eyes. “You can’t leave me. We’re going _home_ ,” she sobbed. Home to the Whispering Woods, to their little treehouse, back to a time where their lives were simple and endlessly intertwined. When nothing else mattered besides each other. Where there were no wars to fight. 

A familiar golden glow surrounded both her and Catra as she cried. Adora poured all of herself into it, begging She-Ra like she never had for her to do this one selfish thing. To not let Catra be taken from her. Seconds turned into almost a minute, and she was losing her grasp on the warrior, was getting tired, but she stubbornly hung on. It _had_ to work. The light faded and Adora shrunk back down to herself, exhausted. She opened her eyes.

Nothing from Catra.

Some little half-sobbing hiccup escaped unbidden from Adora but then - 

A tiny cough. Catra shifted in Adora’s hold, her head falling away as she coughed a few more times before wearily turning back to look up into her eyes. “H-Hey Adora,” she breathed with a smile.

Another sob escaped Adora before she could hold it back, and she buried her face in the curve between Catra’s neck and shoulder, holding Catra as close to her body as possible. Shaking arms wrapped around her back and Catra held on just as tightly, tears soaking into Adora’s shirt. 

“I missed you so much,” Adora whimpered, kissing the side of Catra’s neck and making her shiver. “I’m sorry I let him take you please don’t ever leave me again.”

“Shh,” Catra soothed her. “I’m here, Adora. We made it - we survived. You came and saved me, just like we always do, right? You came and got me.”

Adora nodded shakily, still crying. “Ri-Right.”

Bow intervened quietly, not wanting to disturb his friends. “You guys could both use some sleep,” he suggested in a gentle tone. “Why don’t you take Catra to your bunk Adora? Glimmer, Entrapta and I can handle flying for a while.” Glimmer nodded her agreement, wiping tears of her own away. 

Adora stood without another word, never letting go of Catra, who accommodated her by twining her legs around her waist and arms around her neck. As tired as she was, Adora barely felt the extra weight as she carried Catra toward where she’d been sleeping, locking the door behind her to prevent any disturbances and settling down onto her bed. Not once did Catra shift in her hold. They stayed that way for long minutes, afraid to let go in case one disappeared.

“How long - how long was I gone?” Catra finally asked.

“Almost two months,” Adora answered, voice dull with exhaustion - mental, physical, emotional. “We - we’ve never been apart for more than a couple days our whole lives, and I don’t even _remember_ those days. Catra, I didn’t know what to do! I’m so _sorry_.” Blurting out the apology she’d been waiting to say for weeks exhausted Adora like nothing else had. She collapsed onto Catra’s body, covering all of her with her own as if that would protect Catra from anything that wanted to hurt her.

Catra shuffled so she could wrap her arms around Adora. “Hey. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. _I’m_ sorry I couldn’t get both me and Glimmer out. I never wanted you to be in that kind of situation again - having to come rescue me like when we were kids. Even if you are the big hero now.”

Adora finally let herself relax, sinking into Catra. “You’re still my hero,” she murmured. “If I’d lost you - I -” Tears leaked out once more - Adora was surprised she had any left to cry. “I can’t lose you Catra. I _can’t_. I was going to burn down his whole fleet - erase him from the universe - to get you back.”

“Such violence,” Catra managed the weak tease. “Normally that’s my job.”

“I’m never leaving you behind,” Adora murmured.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

* * *

Glimmer peeked through the window in the door to Adora’s room, checking on her friends. She would have preferred to poke her head in, but Adora was obviously feeling protective and paranoid and had locked and barred the door. Not to mention she didn’t feel like she’d been forgiven yet - not that she should have. But the girls were both in bed, Adora draped all over Catra with Catra’s tail coiled around Adora’s wrist and rubbing at her palm.

Sometimes Glimmer wished they’d never run into Adora and Catra in the Whispering Woods that night. After three years of war and the perspective that brought, after everything _she’d_ done recently, sometimes she wanted to go back and spare those scared forest children the trauma ahead of them, including every mistake she would make in the future and all the hurt she herself would cause them. That times hadn’t been so desperate that Glimmer would beg help from anyone. 

“How are they?” Bow’s quiet question interrupted Glimmer’s dark thoughts. 

She sighed, looking once more through the window. “Catra’s asleep - can’t tell about Adora. My guess is she’s standing guard, no matter how tired she is. But I can’t get in there and make her rest because she locked the door.”

“I could - get it open?” Bow offered hesitantly. “I could _maybe_ reprogram Darla to give me administrator access.”

“No, she’ll pass out eventually. I just -” Glimmer shook her head. “They shouldn’t have had to deal with all this. They _shouldn’t_ have to lead us - the Rebellion - _especially_ after what I did. So much has hurt them since we found each other and I just want - I want them to be okay.”

Bow wrapped her up in a tight hug and Glimmer sank into it gratefully. “They will be. We’re _so close_ Glimmer, I can feel it. You and Catra are back, Adora has She-Ra again, we’re in _space_ and not dying. We just need to get back to Etheria, meet up with the rest of the Rebellion, and finish this.”

“I just worry how much will be left to go back to, once all this is over. Even if we win,” Glimmer murmured. “What will be left for them, Bow?”

* * *

Adora felt Catra stir, then thrash, then scream as she fought out of Adora’s arms and fell to the floor. “Catra,” she called gently, trying not to scare her more. “Catra it’s okay - it’s just me.”

Catra scooted into a corner, hiding her face in her knees. She didn’t cry, but she was trembling and her tail whipped back and forth anxiously. One hand scrabbled at the back of her neck, where the burnt out chip remained. “I want it off I want if off!” she yelled. “Adora I want it off!”

She needed to calm her down before Catra could do any more damage to herself. Adora gently grabbed her wrist and pulled it to her chest. “I know, Catra. And we’ll get it off, I promise. But I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay? Kit,” she pulled out the nickname only ever used in the most desperate of times and not in years, “you’re safe. You’re with me, and nothing else bad can happen as long as we’re together.”

The reminder of their childhood vow, never broken, finally pulled Catra from her panic. “Adora,” she whispered, sinking into the blonde’s lap. 

“I’ve got you Kit.” Adora hugged her closer, engulfing the smaller girl with her arms and legs and curling in. “It’s all over, and Entrapta can take the chip off today, but he can’t use it. You’re safe.”

Catra’s hand ran over the barely closed gashes in Adora’s back and she stiffened. “I hurt you,” she choked out. “Adora I’m _sorry_. For everything.”

“Hey, no,” Adora immediately denied. “Catra, none of that was your fault, and I will never blame you for it. He made you do it - I know you would never hurt me if you could help it. We look after each other, right?”

“R-Right.”

“Everything’s going to be okay, Catra.”

Catra burrowed into Adora’s arms, hiding her face in her shirt. “I missed you,” she whimpered. “I thought I’d never see you again. He - he erased me. I _felt_ everything that made me _me_ just disappear when he had his clones force me into that pool. And it _burned_.” 

Hot tears soaked into Adora’s shirt, and Adora’s joined in as she was brutally reminded of how it felt to have someone digging around in her head. She would have never wished it on anyone, but she especially never wanted it for Catra. That was a burden she’d been resolved to carry alone.

Not sure if Catra wanted her to talk or preferred to just get it all out at once, Adora lifted her hand to Catra’s shortened hair and ran her fingers through the tangles, being careful to avoid the blackened chip on the nape of her neck. She gently worked out the knots, rubbing at the base of Catra’s ears when she passed them. A stuttering purr started and stopped for a few minutes until it finally smoothed into a rumble and Catra relaxed.

“Can you cut my hair?” Catra mumbled a long while later. “I just - he - I don’t want to have anything that’s _his_.” Prime’s uniform had already been torn off frantically to be replaced by some of Adora’s clothes. Only the chip was left. And her hair.

Adora kissed her forehead and nodded. “Yeah. I can find something on this ship that’ll work. We’ll fix it - and I’m gonna be here Kit. Always.” Her hand smoothed through the short fur on Catra’s back and down the length of her tail, did anything that had ever kept Catra calm in the past. “Do you want to try sleeping again?”

Catra’s head shook against Adora’s shirt. “Just stay.”

“I am.”

* * *

The only time Adora separated from Catra over the next week on the ship was when Prime _dared_ to pursue and attack them, sending Adora into a towering rage. She’d flung herself from the loading bay of Mara’s ship as She-Ra, not even really stopping to consider if she could even survive as the magical being in _space_ of all things. Turned out she could, which was lucky, since Catra would have murdered her corpse if she’d gotten herself killed in the vacuum of space. But there hadn’t been time to think on such things, because Entrapta was removing the chip from Catra’s neck when they were interrupted and Catra _needed_ Adora there.

The Horde’s scouting ships never stood a chance against Adora’s anger. She was back with Catra minutes later as she struggled through some vision of Prime’s upcoming plans for subduing Etheria. Including a possible destination that might lend them some answers about Prime’s weaknesses. Adora asked Entrapta to set a course and locked the door behind her friend, rejoining Catra on their bed and surrounding her smaller body with her own again, getting as close as she could with Catra’s knees tucked into her chest. 

“Are you alright?” she asked quietly, holding her close but avoiding the damaged skin on the back of Catra’s neck in case she still didn’t want Adora touching it. 

“No,” Catra muttered. “He made me _hurt_ you. You’re going to have scars - because of me. And I didn’t _care_. Everything I said to you while I was - like that - and I didn’t care about any of it.”

Adora huddled in closer, trying to offer whatever comfort she could to her struggling best friend. “I knew it wasn’t you,” she reassured. “I didn’t blame you for anything. We’ve been together since we were toddlers - I like to think I know you better than that. You would never hurt me if you could help it.”

Catra grimaced and shoved her head up under Adora’s chin, burying her face in Adora’s shirt. “He told me all kinds of things - both before the chip and after.” She shuddered. “He could see all my memories - like he stole them. He said that I was always one step below you, always coming in second - that you would never see me as your equal.” Catra’s hands clenched into fists, claws digging in until Adora hushed her and gently tugged them free. “He thought he could make me _hate_ you, _want_ to hurt you. That it would be just that easy to turn me. That I was _weak_ ,” she hissed.

“You have _never_ been weak,” Adora said firmly. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you - I would have died years ago, or would still be stuck in the Horde with no thoughts that actually belonged to me and didn’t come direct from Shadow Weaver. You’re the one who got us out of the Horde, _you_ came back for me. You tried to stop me from sacrificing myself in the portal and you kept me from going crazy the last year with everything from Glimmer to the Heart and Light Hope. All of that was you. He can’t take the fact that you’ve always been my hero away from you, Kit.”

Purring rumbled through both their chests as Catra snuggled in even closer, hiding in Adora’s chest. “I missed you,” she muttered. “And I know you’re just going to say it wasn’t my fault again, but I’m still sorry.”

“I know you are,” Adora sighed, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll keep forgiving you until you believe me.”


	23. Chapter 23

It took a few days to reach Krytis, the planet the clone Entrapta had adopted accidentally told them about. Catra had nightmares every night, but soothing her out of them was getting quicker and she hadn’t fallen thrashing out of bed in two days. Adora would take the positives. 

Things were tense between them and Glimmer still, despite the queen’s clear remorse and gratitude for Catra saving her. Adora wasn’t sure how long it would take her to forgive her friend, but she knew she wasn’t willing to yet. The feeling of Catra dead in her arms was still far too recent. It would take time for her to recover from that sensation of - complete, all consuming despair and devastation. But she was trying. Adora knew she didn’t really have it in her to hate someone, even if she’d wanted to.

Catra had taken to watching the stars and planets - or more commonly, the great expanse of nothing - out the large windows in the command room, and that’s where Adora found her the morning they were due to touch down on Krytis. “I know our experiences out here haven't been exactly great,” Adora admitted after just watching with Catra for a while, “but there’s something about space that’s just so -” she searched for the word she was looking for, came up blank.

“Peaceful,” Catra supplied. “It’s peaceful. Like everything’s very old or very new, and nothing can reach us out here.”

Adora nodded. “It reminds me of the Whispering Woods,” she realized. “In the very beginning. I don’t think the trees would mind the comparison.” She crawled onto the ledge and settled herself behind Catra, letting her lounge against her chest. A soft purr that had started appearing again - not as often as before, but more confident than immediately after Prime - vibrated in her chest. “I like this. You and me, seeing all the stars and planets,” she murmured. “Once this is all over, I think I want to come back here - get the time to appreciate it. See what’s really out there, maybe document it for others back home.”

Catra shivered as Adora’s breath hit the back of her neck, still getting used to it not being covered by her now shorn mane. “I’d like that. When he was -” she shuddered, “when he was testing to see if he could get me to turn against you and everyone else before the chip, I watched him demolish a world. All those people,” she muttered sadly. “He’s destroying the universe, one planet at a time, making room for his version of _perfection_ ,” she snarled. “Anyone who doesn’t conform he - he chips them, turns them against the ones they love and lets them all destroy their own worlds for him. It’s _sick_.”

“We’re going to stop him,” Adora vowed, holding Catra tighter. “There has to be something in this universe that gave him a hard time. Maybe Krytis has the answers we need. We’ll figure this out Kit,” she whispered.

* * *

Krytis was - creepy. The clone Entrapta had inexplicably adopted from Prime’s ship of horrors - Adora wasn’t sure he had a name - immediately began having some kind of existential crisis that she yanked Catra away from to escape, and Entrapta stayed behind with him to do... _something_ with technology. 

And then the walls kept changing and doors appeared and disappeared, and Adora was getting a little freaked out. She could see Catra’s fur standing on end, so she pushed aside her growing fear to tap her hand. “Hey,” she called gently, drawing Catra’s attention. “Whatever’s here drove Prime off, and nothing can be worse than Prime - except maybe Shadow Weaver - so they can’t be bad.”

“True,” Catra acknowledged, taking a deep breath. “I just keep getting the feeling that something is following us. Stalking us. Can you feel that?”

“No. But I _can_ feel really powerful magic. It’s...different than the Whispering Woods and the rest of Etheria, alien, but it’s strong.”

Catra nodded absentmindedly, her hand reaching up for the back of her neck to scratch at the still angry skin. Adora captured her wrist before she could and interlaced their fingers before lifting both their hands to press a kiss to the back of Catra’s. Catra immediately broke out in a blush and she ducked her head, stuttering. “Um - I uh - I was just gonna say that - Prime didn’t seem like he was fond of magic. Maybe - maybe that’s why he retreated from here?”

“Everything he did was very much tech based,” Glimmer agreed. Adora’s stomach knotted at Glimmer’s voice, but she forced it down. She had Catra back, and she was working on forgiveness now. She knew Catra and Glimmer had come to some kind of at least truce on Prime’s ship, and Bow was just grateful the outright fighting was over and wanted things to go back to normal. Adora was still trailing a little behind everyone else, but she was trying. It was just hard. Honestly she was past everything Glimmer had done to hurt her, that didn’t matter.

But her arms felt the weight of Catra’s unbreathing body in her arms, and that wasn’t something she was going to ever forget.

“Do you think he’s scared of it?” she asked Catra, trying to distract herself from spiraling.

“Could be,” Catra shrugged. “Or he just knows it’s more powerful than tech, no matter how he tries to usurp it, and that really infuriates him so he’s trying to destroy it throughout the universe. I mean, we’ve seen what She-Ra can do against Horde tech, and she even makes Entrapta’s stuff go haywire sometimes. The First Ones managed to merge magic and tech somehow, but even that was too much for him and he massacred them.”

That was another thing occupying her mind in the five minutes each day Adora wasn’t entirely focused on Catra. If the First Ones were gone, where did she come from? It was something to solve later, after they had come up with a way to stop Prime, but she couldn’t help wondering.

“Hey Adora.” Adora glanced down at Catra, who was giving her a lopsided grin. She’d missed that smile so much. “Smoke’s coming out your ears, dummy,” Catra teased her gently.

Adora couldn’t help the way her whole body went nearly limp in a mixture of relief and joy at being able to just _be_ with Catra again. She let her head drop to rest on top of Catra’s, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Just missed you,” she murmured, getting a purr in response.

A rustle came from behind them, then both Glimmer and Bow were screeching in fear. Adora spun around, instinctively reaching for her sword before remembering that it was still inconsistent. A strange, almost flaming creature loomed over their heads, head tilted, but before Adora could do anything, Catra leapt at the alien creature, knocking it back. They both suddenly disappeared into thin air, Catra’s yelp the last thing they heard before silence reigned. 

Part of Adora wanted to panic at losing sight of Catra so soon after everything, but the creature hadn’t looked very threatening so a somewhat larger part just amusedly rolled her eyes and wrote a mental note to the rest of the Princess Alliance: 

_The love of my life, ladies and Bow_. _Regrettably._

Catra might be the smartest person Adora had ever met - even more than Bow and Entrapta, in Adora’s unbiased (very biased) opinion - but she occasionally displayed about as much common sense as Adora herself, leaping first and looking later. Adora was mature enough to admit that she could be - spontaneous at times - and Catra had picked up just as many of her bad habits as Adora had Catra’s good ones.

First Ones, she loved her so much.

“C’mon,” she said, slicing a hole through the metal floor she was pretty sure Catra had just somehow phased through with an alien, finding a cavern heading straight down beneath it. “Let’s go get her. I’ll jump first. Glimmer, you follow with Bow once you know how deep it is.”

Thankfully, the ground wasn’t too far down and Adora landed without incident. “Wasn’t really looking forward to breaking my legs again,” she muttered to herself. “Catra? Cat, where are you?” she called.

“Shh!” Catra hissed, drawing her attention. She was sitting on the ground a bit away, face to face with a creature that looked similar to the one she’d tackled just a minute ago, but now distinctly more cat-like. Was it - copying Catra? Could it change shape? “I’m okay just give me a second.” Catra reached out hesitantly and rubbed the alien cat’s nose. Adora inched closer. The cat just looked at her and went back to purring with its eyes closed, enjoying Catra’s attention.

The pop of Glimmer’s teleport behind them. “Catra! Adora!” both her and Bow shouted. The two girls flinched, causing the blue flames wreathing the cat’s neck to burst into red as it yowled at the other pair and placed itself between them in a protective stance.

_Stay away from the kittens._

Adora and Catra both jumped in place, looking at each other before looking back at the alien. “Did they just -?” Adora trailed off.

“We’re _trying_ something here, if you didn’t notice,” Catra snapped at Bow and Glimmer, shoulders hunched. “Hey,” she called in a softer tone, coaxing the cat. “It’s okay, they’re friends. We’re all safe.”

The alien curled their way around both Catra and Adora, keeping a careful eye on Bow and Glimmer but purring again when Adora rubbed behind an ear the way Catra liked so much. _You bring one of the Harbingers with you_ , they murmured.

“What? Who did we bring?” Adora asked, confused.

“Who are they talking to?” Bow whispered. Glimmer just shrugged.

 _The Harbingers of Destruction. They have been here before_. 

“Do you mean the Horde?” Catra jumped in.

The cat gave a nod. _They came once, but were driven off my planet. I have - been alone ever since. Until you kittens arrived. I can feel you,_ they told Adora.

Did they not have anyone else? The alien turned to Catra and seemed to speak to her alone. “They say their name is Melog,” she murmured. “The Horde came, but they - drove them away.”

“Melog? Was it your magic?” The planet had to be full of magic, to persist so strongly that Adora could feel it even with only one inhabitant as Melog was claiming. 

Melog nuzzled their nose against Adora’s cheek. _You are strong with magic as well, kitten - it threatens to overwhelm you. But it may also lead to the Horde’s downfall at last. Where I was not strong enough, you may yet succeed._ Melog turned to Catra and twined around her. _I will leave with you, kittens. I can be of some help to both of you, I believe._

As if answering silent bidding, Catra laid a hand on Melog’s head and they both disappeared. Adora would have panicked a little more if she couldn’t still feel Catra’s hand grasped tightly in hers. “That’s amazing,” she murmured, already considering how Melog could help with Prime’s forces back on Etheria, especially with the blockade around the planet Catra had seen right before Entrapta removed the chip from her neck. “You’re sure you want to fight again, Melog?” she asked once they and Catra had reappeared.

A head butting up against her cheek was her answer as Melog just purred and leaned against Adora. Catra giggled. Melog’s mane was wreathed in blue flames again, the angry red long gone. “I think they sense emotions. They got upset when I got frustrated and scared after I tackled them and we fell down here,” Catra explained. “Melog backed off and changed into this form, and - I don’t know.”

 _I can feel you._ Melog sat on their haunches, eyes piercing into Catra’s before briefly turning on Adora. _Much is required of both of you - perhaps too much. I will show you._

Adora shook her head, trying to wrap her head around the new ally they had gained. What was Melog talking about? And why couldn’t Bow and Glimmer hear them? A palm pressed against hers, and Adora turned to see Catra smiling up at her. For the first time, a flicker of real hope was shining in her eyes.

Maybe they would be okay.

* * *

Catra sighed as she watched the nothingness of space moving past them. Darla had informed them that the ship would reach Etheria tomorrow, so Adora was prepping for possible combat with Bow. Even Glimmer had joined in. Catra found her appetite for any violence diminished since her fight with Adora on Prime's ship. At least for the time being. So she was alone on the command deck. 

_You are brooding_ , Melog said disapprovingly from where they lay beside her, tail rapping against her thigh.

“So?” Catra muttered, glancing at Melog and away. “I think I’ve earned a bit of that. Better I do it here and not make Adora worry.”

 _Not everything you do must be for her sake_ , Melog advised. _You are your own, first, and to look after her you must look after yourself. If you truly wish to help her._

“We’ve been looking out for each other for years. If I don’t keep her from being stupid, she’s going to do something idiotically brave and heroic and get herself killed,” Catra argued. “I _have_ to. Especially after everything.” Her voice broke.

Melog’s head rested in her lap and Catra absentmindedly scratched between their ears. _What happened on the Harbinger’s ship was not your fault,_ Melog reminded her. _Adora forgave you._

“Just because she forgave me doesn’t mean she should. Adora’s the kindest person I know - she’d probably forgive Shadow Weaver if that woman was capable of showing some kind of honest regret for her actions. It doesn’t change the fact that I swore I’d never hurt her and now she’ll have scars because of me for the rest of her life,” Catra spat, tears stinging in her eyes. She wiped them angrily away.

_I think you will find that Adora sees the scars as a small price far outweighed by your presence remaining in her life. For the love you share._

Catra’s head whipped down to stare at Melog, who only rumbled knowingly. “Who told you that? Did Adora say something?” she demanded.

Melog rocked their tail back and forth, letting it brush against Catra’s nose and making her sneeze as they chuckled in her head. _She did not need to. It is obvious that you share a soul, as my people once said._ They glanced up at her. _This is not a surprise to you._

“Of course it isn’t,” Catra mumbled. “I _know_ we’re obvious, alright? It’s just - never the right time. The world is always in danger or one of us is getting kidnapped or dealing with the trauma of being kidnapped, or the guilt of almost getting killed right in front of the other and traumatizing them more. I love her. I _know_ she loves me. I just don’t know when will ever be the right time to act on it. Or if we’ll survive long enough _to_ act on it. And I can’t give her that just for me to die in a week. It’d kill her. She knows - she has to; we’re not hiding it.” She sniffed. Melog purred when Catra wrapped her arms tight around their neck, crying quietly into their shoulder.

* * *

“Oh, hey Melog,” Adora said, half expecting to see Catra turning around the corner with their newest friend. She and the cat had been inseparable since they left Krytis. But Catra didn’t appear, so Melog must have had some kind of objective.

 _You are hurting_.

Right to the point then, apparently. “It’s fine,” she dismissed, rubbing at her legs. “Just twinges a bit. It’ll heal in no time - I promise it’s nothing to worry about. Won’t slow me down.”

_Not for that. You have some knowledge of what must be done on Etheria, and I have no concerns about your strength or ability. You hurt for Catra, for those you have lost, and for what you cannot reconcile in your heart. Your soul hurts._

Adora winced. “I’ll be fine now that I have Catra back. It’s fine.”

Melog shook their head. _You have lost yourself - it was taken from you. This is something that not even Catra can fix._

“I tried to do what they told me,” Adora said defensively, not even sure why she was getting upset. “I didn’t say anything when Catra started going on missions with Double Trouble - I let her branch out away from me. They said it would be healthier, but look where it got us. Catra _died_ , Melog. She got abducted - _again_ \- and she died this time. I held -” Adora choked. “I held her in my arms while she died, and I _barely_ got her back.”

 _And now you will keep her by your side no matter what she wants?_ It was like they were goading her into coming up with some answer, but Adora couldn’t grasp it.

“Of course not! I let her go once, didn’t I? Whatever she needs to be happy.”

_And what you need?_

Adora glanced down, unable to meet Melog’s unflinching gaze and probing questions. “I’ll survive. She-Ra will make sure of it.”

A large paw batted her, nearly making her fall as Melog growled. _You are a stubborn kitten. What is it that you desire?_

When was the last time she thought about that? Beyond just wanting Catra to be safe and with her? It must have been before the portal. “I want -” She didn’t even know anymore. “It doesn’t matter,” she decided, making Melog hiss at her in disappointment. When she tried to leave the room, Melog tackled her from behind, bearing her to the ground and pinning her by the shoulders. “Hey!”

_You must learn to separate yourself from Catra._

“I _told_ you - I tried that already.”

Melog shook their head. _Not physically._ They sat down beside Adora, letting her sit up. _You are_ not _the same person, and until you learn to consider your own needs as well as those of everyone else,_ including _Catra, you will never be free._

“To do what?”

_To be Adora. Who is Adora?_

“I -” Her shoulders sagged, weighed down by the responsibility of the world and universe hanging in the balance for her to fix. “I don’t remember. I’m not sure I ever knew. Shadow Weaver made sure of that,” she scoffed. She’d never really let herself wonder about it - how much of her was truly her own, and what was implanted by Shadow Weaver from all the digging she’d done in Adora’s head. 

Melog rubbed their head against Adora’s cheek, purring comfortingly. _What was done to you was heinous, and I am sorry it cannot be undone. But if you truly want Catra, you need to learn who you are as your own person. It is not all on you. Catra needs to learn as well. You did not have a choice in the way you grew up. You survived because you had each other - because you trusted one another implicitly. Now you must learn to be together, yet separate - to live with each other in safety._

Adora cracked a grin, leaning against Melog’s strong shoulder. “Don’t know if you noticed, but we _are_ kind of at war. Hard to be safe.”

A mewl of annoyance. _I see that the sense of humor is from Catra._

“Hey. At least I come by it honestly.” A rough tongue slid up her cheek and into her hair, making it stand on end as she squealed.

* * *

Catra walked into the room she and Adora were sharing, ready to sleep. Talking with Melog before they’d disappeared to First Ones knew where had been mentally exhausting, and they were due to land on Etheria tomorrow. Right in the middle of a war zone. She was going to have to be alert if she was going to keep Adora out of a multitude of troubles. 

Looking up, she was greeted with the sight of Adora changing into the clothes she’d been sleeping in, Melog already on the bed. But the bare skin didn’t capture her attention as it normally would. Instead, all Catra could see were the eight parallel scars running down Adora’s back between her shoulder blades before flaring out toward her hips. 

She must have made some noise, because Adora turned to find her standing frozen in the doorway, eyes wide. “Catra?”

“Your back…”

Adora hurried to put her shirt on. “Sorry. You didn’t need to see that. Come here,” she coaxed, beckoning, but Catra couldn’t move.

“How can you look at me?” Catra asked, staring at her claws in disgust before sheathing them.

“You think I care about some scars on my back?” Adora huffed. “Catra. I _lost_ you. You were gone, and then Prime tortured and brainwashed you, and then you _died_ . Do you honestly think some blood and torn up skin compares to _any_ of that?”

“I -”

Adora interrupted her before Catra could come up with another reason Adora should be mad at her. “Catra. You’re the most important person in my life. When I didn’t have you - I couldn’t function. Spinnerella, Netossa, and Bow combined could barely hold me together long enough to come after you. And as Melog has so _helpfully_ ,” she shot an annoyed look at the smug alien cat, “informed me, that’s maybe not the healthiest attitude to have, always putting you before myself.” Adora smiled and shrugged helplessly. “But I can’t help it, Kit. So don’t ever think you’re going to scare me away or do something unforgivable. I could never be angry with you, especially for something so out of your control.”

“You mean that?” Catra asked hesitantly, hand rubbing against her bicep anxiously. 

She knew she had to let Catra come to her, but waiting was torture. “Every word. What is it you always like to tell me?” Adora prompted.

A pause. “You’re mine.”

“I’m yours.” 

Catra finally relaxed and threw herself into Adora’s arms, holding on tight as tears ran down her cheeks. “I don’t think I’m okay,” she admitted.

“It’s alright,” Adora hushed her gently. “I don’t think I am either. I feel scattered, and volatile, and afraid. But we _will_ be alright, as Melog keeps forcibly reminding me. We’re going to go home, reunite with the rest of our friends, and finally bring down Prime once and for all. After that, we’ll slow down. Go back to the Woods for as long as we want. And maybe I’ll figure out how to put myself first for once and we can be normal. We’ll be alright someday. I promise Catra.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been occupied by Cyberpunk 2077 and RWBY, almost forgot to post. My bad.

The fragile new equilibrium Adora and Catra found on Darla was thrown into disarray the moment they landed on Etheria. The villages were in chaos, being hounded by clones, and feeling abandoned by the Alliance. The Princess Alliance itself took days to find in their new hiding spot. And then they were informed that Shadow Weaver had disappeared without a trace, making Adora’s blood go cold. If she’d run off and joined up with Prime…

“Hey.” Catra pulled Adora’s attention down to her. “We’re going to be okay,” she reassured her gently. “Everyone knows now - even Glimmer - how bad she is. Even if Shadow Weaver comes back, even if she’s sided with Prime,” she forced herself to say the name, “we won’t let her hurt us again. We’ll watch each others’ backs, alright?”

Adora nodded shakily. “Right,” she mumbled, leaning into Catra. She couldn’t let despair take over again. She had Catra back, and they could end this. 

Maybe.

She didn’t know how yet, but Adora was going to find a way to end this, one way or another. One last threat to their safety. And then she would deal with Shadow Weaver whenever they found her again. Then maybe she and Catra could finally just _exist_ like they used to. Together. 

Wouldn’t that be something?

* * *

Spinnerella had been chipped. Netossa was on a one woman rampage to rescue her wife, and Spinnerella had been chipped. Everything else was put on hold until they could get Spinnerella back. She was just too powerful to leave her on Prime’s side - not to mention Netossa wouldn’t let them _do_ anything else until her wife was at her side again.

“Okay kids, I’ve got a plan. _I_ know Spinny’s weakness,” Netossa announced proudly.

Glimmer smirked. “Yeah, yeah - we know it’s -”

“ _Everyone_ knows she twisted her ankle as a kid! Scorpia will be the distraction for the clones and bots with her lightning, I’ll run in and preoccupy Spinny, injure her weak spot, and then knock her out!” Netossa fist pumped, looking thrilled with the plan, only to be met with silence from all the teens. “What? I’ve been logging everybody’s weak spots just in case something like this happened some day!”

Bow was the one to speak up, though even he seemed hesitant to rain on Netossa’s jubilance. “That just seems...a little far fetched? There’s a lot riding on this, and this is _great,_ ” he backtracked quickly when Netossa’s eyes narrowed, “it just needs to go right the first time and we don’t have a great track record pleasedon’ttiemeup!” 

Netossa huffed. “Oh! Oh, I see. You don’t believe me? Huh! I’ve been tracking all of the ways you can be taken down a notch for years.” She stomped over and grabbed some robot ball Entrapta had been messing with earlier. “Entrapta’s weakness?” She tossed the ball, and the genius princess scrambled after it with an excited squeal. “Tech! Mermista’s weakness: fire. Frosta’s: also fire.” She held up cartoonishly drawn figures, each in turn. Catra had to admit that they at least looked funny. Especially with who was next. “Glimmer: crippling self doubt combined with overwhelming hubris.” 

“Whoa whoa whoa! That is like, way more personal than _fire_!” the Queen complained.

Catra snorted, getting some satisfaction in seeing someone else being a bit tetchy with Glimmer. She had a feeling neither of the wives had taken kindly to Glimmer’s recent actions when they learned about them - if Adora had said anything. Bow probably had. Couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Her smile dropped when Netossa approached Adora. This wouldn’t be good.

“Adora’s weakness: Catra. And can’t act to save her own life whenever there’s a threat.” 

Adora wilted a bit, and Catra stiffened when Netossa got to her. “We get it,” she jumped in, trying to stave her off before Netossa said anything embarrassing. “Princesses are easy to take down. Why do you think they made _me_ the tactician?” she asked smugly. 

Netossa just gave her an unimpressed look. “Adora. Also -” she held up a bottle and sprayed Catra right in the face with a stream of water, making her shriek and try to escape. A net wrapped around her body, tripping her up. “Don’t give me lip, kid,” Netossa said as she leaned down to give Catra a condescending pat on the head. “Good to have you back. Didn’t miss your snark, though.” She straightened up while Adora helped Catra wiggle free, hissing all the while. “Believe me now?”

* * *

Catra was moping on top of some boxes, hidden in shadow when Adora came to find her. “You okay?” Adora asked, concerned. “Netossa didn’t go too far with the whole net thing, did she? She’s just stressed about Spinnerella.”

“No, it wasn’t the net,” Catra sighed. “And I didn’t know I was going to have a problem so it’s not her fault. I just think, uh - showers and you know, any water are going to be a bit of a - a problem for a while.” Adora didn’t say anything, letting Catra elaborate on her own time. “Prime - he uh, he didn’t just grab me and chip me like he’s doing the others. He made it more _‘memorable’_.”

“You never did like water all that much,” Adora murmured. “But that pool in his sanctum? Was that the one you were talking about before, the night I got you back?”

Just another reason why whenever anyone, Adora included, implied Adora wasn’t as intelligent as the rest of those around her, all brawn no brain, Catra wanted to claw their eyes out. She was _so_ smart. “Yeah,” she muttered. “He reconditioned Hordak into his hivemind by dumping him in there. Never did see him again. And then he used it to ‘indoctrinate’ me. His clones forced me under. It was like drowning in acid and electricity at the same time.” 

She sniffed, and Adora immediately pulled her into a fierce hug, engulfing Catra’s body with her own. “I won’t ever let him touch you again,” Adora promised. “And I’ll talk to Netossa and the others for you, if you want. If it’ll make you uncomfortable to talk about it.”

Catra nuzzled against Adora’s cheek affectionately, grateful for the empathy Adora never failed to show everyone - but especially her. “Maybe. I’ll think about it. But we have bigger problems than me being more scared of water than usual. Like getting Spinnerella back.”

“We will. We just have to track her down first.”

* * *

As if things couldn’t get worse, Shadow Weaver came back that night with Glimmer’s aunt, and of course they knew where Spinnerella was. Adora froze the second she saw the sorceress in camp, wanting to run and hide in the Woods again, maybe never come back this time. The only good part about Shadow Weaver’s reappearance was Glimmer’s reaction to her. It did more to help mend the chasm between them to see Glimmer threatening Shadow Weaver than any apology would ever be able to.

But then Shadow Weaver brought up Spinnerella and hooked Netossa, and also so fortuitously mentioned a way to put an end to Prime once and for all, hidden beneath Mystacor. Even Catra couldn’t find an argument against her after that. Especially since Adora had failed to bring out She-Ra since her display in space against Prime’s scout ships. She flickered into the hero every once in a while, but it never stuck. None of that was helping Adora’s anxiety or confidence issues, which just made summoning She-Ra even more difficult. Even Catra had had limited success in helping Adora focus. 

“Hey.” Catra’s quiet tone pulled Adora’s attention back to her. “Just say the word, and I’ll slice her to shreds the second we have this new weapon she’s going on about. I’ll do it,” she swore.

Adora managed a weak smile but shook her head. She had no doubt Catra would follow through on such a promise, but she could never ask her to do that. To kill for her sake. “Just - don’t let me be alone with her?” she asked, voice trembling. “I’m scared. What if she messes with my head again or takes me?”

“Nobody here is going to let her do that,” Catra promised immediately. “Okay, Adora? And we aren’t kids anymore - she can’t hurt us. Netossa isn’t letting her out of her sight, and me and Glimmer have got you. No one is going to leave you alone Adora, I promise. Least of all with her.”

Nodding, Adora forced herself to relax a fraction. “I know. I mean - I want to believe that, but - we used to think she could do whatever she wanted, remember? She scared me more than Hordak.”

Careful hands tugged her down until Catra was holding her gently. “I remember. And she’s hurt us so much, and I know it’s terrifying that she’s back and seems to be running the show yet again, but she’s _not_ Adora. She’s got no power anymore, anyway - Scorpia has it of all people.” Catra let a claw scrape ever so lightly against the back of Adora’s neck. It always helped remind Adora of just who was holding her - kept her present. 

“Don’t let her take me.”

Arms clutched tighter, as if they could hold Adora together. “I won’t. I swear I won’t.”

* * *

Adora felt like she should have expected Prime to know they were coming and ambush them just as they reached the depths below Mystacor. Though honestly, they were holding their own until Spinnerella made an appearance. Clearly she’d been holding back in all the years Adora had known her - the force of the tornado she used to cut Adora off from the rest of the group, isolate her, was stronger than almost any magic she’d ever seen. Including anything Glimmer had come up with.

Shadow Weaver walked through the blasting wind, forcing it out and away from her before letting it close behind as she approached Adora. “Stay away from me,” Adora warned. 

“ _Y_ _ou_ have to take the failsafe Adora,” Shadow Weaver ordered, ignoring Adora. “Take it. And stop wasting time.”

“Why would I ever do _anything_ that you suggested?!” Adora yelled, getting right up into Shadow Weaver’s face in a burst of bravery and anger. 

“Because it is the only way that you will be able to keep your little pet safe, Adora.” The words were only loud enough for Adora’s ears as Shadow Weaver circled her. She froze for a moment before casting an anxious glance out to where Catra was cornered by one of the chipped sorcerers.

...

Catra frowned, concerned, but couldn’t hear what had made Adora flinch. The swirling magic around them was growing too loud, too powerful to get through. She couldn’t reach them and pull the sorceress away from Adora, not to mention she had her own problem to deal with. 

She’d _promised_ she wouldn’t let Adora be alone with her.

...

“She doesn’t belong to me.” Those felt wrong to say, but in the context that Shadow Weaver meant, Adora knew they were true. Catra was her own, and no one else’s. Maybe that was what Melog had been trying to tell her.

“Then perhaps your concern for her was not as deep as I believed. You were so willing to give yourself up for her sake two years ago,” Shadow Weaver mused. “What changed, Adora?”

“Nothing!”

“And yet you are unwilling to do what is necessary to keep her safe now. Clearly something has.”

Adora bit her lip. She needed Catra. She felt like Shadow Weaver was getting in her head again - making thoughts that weren’t her own - but she hadn’t touched her. It wasn’t supposed to be possible anymore. Catra had promised, overriding all the fear in Adora’s mind because she _always_ believed in Catra. So - was Shadow Weaver right? Was this the only way to keep Catra safe? “You wouldn’t be suggesting this unless you gained something from it,” she spat. “What do you get out of this?”

“All that power set free at last - after a thousand years chained by _your_ people,” Shadow Weaver hummed, delighted. “It will have to go somewhere.”

 _Her_ people did this. No - they weren’t her people. She didn’t know them - wasn’t raised by them. “I -” 

The magic was growing stronger, Spinnerella pushing the others nearly out of the room as Shadow Weaver bore down on Adora. Adora was caught between glaring fearfully up at the woman who raised her and the way shadows formed from wind and magic began going after her friends alongside the controlled sorcerers. “You are the only one who can fix their mistakes,” Shadow Weaver deftly wove her lies as always, no matter how Adora tried to wade her way through them. “Don’t you want Catra to be safe? Isn’t that all you desire?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then take the failsafe. She-Ra is the only who might be able to and survive.”

Adora hesitated. “Might?”

Shadow Weaver gave a small shrug. “It could still overpower even her if _you_ are not strong enough. We shall see. But even if it does, then the magic will still be free.”

Catra would be furious with her if she did this. But Adora couldn’t find any mistruth in Shadow Weaver’s words. She doubted anyone beyond She-Ra _would_ be able to take the failsafe and live. Seemed like the sort of the thing the First Ones would come up with, even rebel ones. And Adora couldn’t ask anyone else to sacrifice themselves for her sake. There’d been enough of that already. Catra and the others were getting overrun by Spinnerella and the chipped sorcerers - they were out of time. She had to decide _now._

“Adora -”

“ _Enough_!” The magic around her and Shadow Weaver dissipated instantly as Adora ran toward the pillar and accepted the failsafe, feeling the burn inside her chest. She held back a scream of pain, not wanting to distract Catra while she was fighting. Catra was going to be so - _mad_ at her. The burning spread, and for a moment, Adora thought maybe she _wasn’t_ strong enough to survive this.

But then the pain settled to a low, constant ache that Adora could handle. She saw Catra pinned by a shadow creature, and She-Ra’s magic lashed out at it, bolstered by the failsafe momentarily. It blazed agony down her spine - using She-Ra that way. The mark on her chest crested again with a blinding sear, but Adora ignored it until it died down once more. 

“Adora?”

That wasn’t Shadow Weaver. Adora looked up to see Catra approaching her slowly. Cautiously. Her face was stitched together into a worried frown as she looked between Adora and Shadow Weaver. In the background, Netossa was holding a struggling Spinnerella to the floor, whispering inaudibly in her ear as she desperately tried to keep her wife still. Most of the other sorcerers were either unconscious or appeared to have fled She-Ra’s anger.

“Adora, what did you do?” Catra drew Adora’s attention back to her.

“What was necessary.”

“Shut up!” Catra glared at Shadow Weaver for having dared to try and get between them yet again. “I didn’t ask you! I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to _hear_ you! Leave us alone for _once_ in our lives!” she practically screamed, putting her body as a barrier between Adora and Shadow Weaver. She shot one last venomous look at the woman before turning all her attention to Adora. “Adora?” It wasn’t a good sign that Adora wouldn’t meet her gaze, instead choosing to fix her eyes on the ground. “Adora, look at me.”

The moment was interrupted by Bow as he held up a finger to his ear. “Guys, Entrapta and the others are saying Prime is making his move on the Heart. Something weird is going on near the Fright Zone. We have time for Entrapta to get the chips off Spinnerella and the others if we do it tonight, but we have to move now.”

When Adora still couldn’t lift her eyes to meet hers, Catra grabbed her by the arm and stormed out of the room and eventually into open air with Adora in tow. It _really_ wasn’t a good sign that Adora didn’t fight her the whole way. She seemed a million miles away, locked up in some part of her mind Catra worried not even she could reach her from. Eventually, she successfully managed to tug Adora into the circle of tents they’d made as camp the night before. She tossed her head around, looking for a place they could have privacy for a bit longer.

“C’mon,” she muttered, pulling at Adora again. She wandered into the trees until the camp was no longer visible. “Adora. Why? Why did you do it?”

“I had to,” Adora mumbled. “No one else could.”

“I thought we _talked_ about this. Didn’t Melog already get after you about being self-sacrificial? Haven’t _I_ said it again and again? When will you _learn_ Adora?”

For the first time since whatever Shadow Weaver had said to her, Adora seemed to come back to herself. “I don’t want to,” she murmured. “I - I don’t - I have a job to do.” Well that, at least, was a first. “Shadow Weaver, she said -”

“ _No_.” Catra stalked up to grab Adora by both shoulders, giving her the tiniest shake. “No Adora. Do not let her get in your head again - don’t let her twist you up. _Please_.” Adora flinched, causing Catra to let go and take a few steps backward. She didn’t want to frighten Adora any more than she likely already was. “Adora, please tell me you had another - legitimate - reason for taking the failsafe besides something Shadow Weaver said. Don’t let her take you away from me.”

Letting her knees crumple, Adora slumped to the ground. “She-Ra is the only one strong enough to do this,” she repeated the tired mantra dully. “I have to.”

Catra groaned in frustration, tugging on her shortened hair. “Why are you _like this_? When do we get to choose again? When do _you_ get to choose? What do you _want_ Adora?!”

“You,” Adora answered immediately. The failsafe in her chest glowed brighter for a moment. “I want you, Catra. That’s all I ever wanted.”

Catra dropped her head and stared at the ground, willing back tears as she made claw marks with her toes in the dirt. “I know,” she acknowledged. “It could kill you.” The words hurt coming out.

Adora hesitated for the first time, gaze dropping to the ground as well. “I think it might,” she admitted in a defeated whisper. “Stay with me?” It was selfish to ask, but Adora couldn’t help it.

Catra couldn’t get back to her fast enough, scrambling over and falling to her knees to throw her arms around Adora’s neck. She held tight like nothing would ever make her let go. “Always,” she growled. “Always, Adora.” 

“I don’t want to do this,” Adora confessed, voice wrecked. “Catra I don’t want to, I promise. I want to be with you - I don’t want to leave.” Melog appeared out of nowhere to curl around them both, mewling as they nuzzled into Adora’s cheek. “Thanks, Melog,” Adora murmured, petting their head as she leaned against Catra and slowly calmed herself. She could do this - as long as she had Catra. She could be brave.

“Come on,” Catra whispered against Adora’s temple, tears thick in her voice as she pressed a kiss into her hair. “We have to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably no update next week, just a heads up. Gonna be busy. But we're almost at the end folks!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had good holidays! This chapter was the last one I had to finish writing, so we're all done! Next two chapters will be up next weekend.

“You guys will take care of each other in there?” Bow fretted, hands grasping at air like he wasn’t sure if he should hug Catra or Adora first. 

Adora had managed to keep her suspicions on how dire her situation might be from him and Glimmer, but he would always worry, so Adora just smiled and hugged him tight. “When does Catra ever let me do anything stupid?”

“Yeah,” Catra agreed, though her voice cracked. “I’ll keep the dummy in line Arrows. You free the rest of our friends and keep him distracted. We’ll deal with the Heart.”

Bow nodded. “Okay. Okay. Oh! My dads sent me a message - they said to be careful down there, the weapon probably has some kind of defense system in place. There wasn’t a clear depiction of what it might be, so just - don’t die, okay?”

“And no sacrificing yourself,” Glimmer added, staring Adora down. “I still have a lot of making up to do to you, so you have stay alive so I can do it.”

Adora couldn’t help the chuckle she let out, moving to hug her first friend in the Rebellion. “Alright,” she agreed quietly, hoping she could keep that promise. “We can do this.” 

Catra took her hand and nodded at the other pair. “See you soon.”

* * *

As they walked through the tunnels beneath the Fright Zone, Adora shuddered. Her arms folded in close to her chest as if to ward off a chill, even though the temperature was strangely mild for being underground. “You okay?” Catra asked, worried.

“Yeah. Just - feels weird down here. Something almost familiar, but I can’t place it. Can you feel that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Catra shrugged. “I wish Melog could have come.”

“Me too. But you know Bow needed them to sneak onto Prime’s ship.” Adora took Catra’s hand in her own, trying to comfort them both. 

“...Yeah.” 

The sound of children laughing startled them both. “Did you hear that?” Adora picked up the pace, trying to find the source of the noise.

“Adora wait!” Catra rushed after her, worried about a trick. It wouldn’t have been the first time First Ones tech had pulled a fast one on them. She didn’t have have far to go before she caught up, rounding a bend to see Adora staring off into the distance. “Adora, what is it? What do you see?”

The whole tunnel seemed to glitch for a moment, the vibrant green of Prime’s presence clearly visible briefly before the walls turned back to normal stone. “It feels like…” Adora murmured before trailing off. “I know this.”

Suddenly, two small kids ran around a bend in the tunnel, sprinting straight through the girls before disappearing. The brief glimpse Catra caught was eerily familiar. “Oh no.”

“That was us. It’s happening again.” There was dread in Adora’s voice. She flickered into She-Ra for a moment, then switched back, breathing heavily.

“Okay, it doesn’t have to mean anything bad. It could just be them trying to tell us we’re in the right place. It was First Ones’ tech the last time.” Catra was trying to be optimistic for Adora’s sake, but that felt like a long shot.

“Yeah and that turned out so well,” Adora muttered obstinately. “I don’t want to see more lies. I don’t want to see any more of what she took from me. I can’t handle it, Catra.”

Catra rested a hand on Adora’s shoulder, hesitant. “Hey,” she murmured. “We’re going to be alright. It’s okay, Adora.”

“I’m never going to get those days back, Catra. Those kids - sure she replaced my memories every time we tried to run away, but how many other times did she mess with my head just to make it easier to control me? What else did she do? I know this isn’t the time - this _so_ isn’t the time, but -” Adora shook her head. “I’m not even sure I know who that girl is. If the kid that escaped with you is even the same one who was your best friend when we were three.”

“Adora…”

Adora shook her head. “I don’t know why I can’t stop thinking about it, but Melog brought it up on the ship and I can’t get it out of my head. I’m never going to be able to trust my memories; I’m never going to be sure that what I’m thinking is actually me and not just some sick, twisted up part of me that _she_ made. And she’ll _always_ be there.”

“Look at me Adora.” Catra’s firm voice finally caught Adora’s attention. “I know you’re scared, and I know that we can’t be sure how today is going to end. But before all that -” Catra took a deep breath. “Adora. No matter what Shadow Weaver did to you, how she lied to you, she never managed to erase _who_ you are. She couldn’t take away your goodness, or how much you cared about me, or our friendship. She didn’t erase how we protected each other as much as two kids in frankly terrible circumstances could. I’m sorry I didn’t know you still worried about that: I should have.”

“Sometimes I felt like the only real part of me that wasn’t with you was She-Ra,” Adora shrugged. “And then I lost both you and her, and - I don’t know. It was hard to feel like what happened to me mattered when I didn’t feel like there was any _me_ left. How could I when I didn’t even know who I was?”

Catra was about to respond when veins of green light began to creep along the walls of the tunnel. “Prime,” she whispered. “He’s infecting the planet like Entrapta said.”

“We have to go.” 

“Wait. Adora we still -” The resolute look on Adora’s face stopped Catra’s protest in its tracks.

“I know. But we’re out of time Catra. If we survive this, we’ll figure it out okay? We’ll get everything straight in my head once and for all, and maybe I’ll finally be able to put it behind me. But we can’t let Prime’s virus reach the Heart, so we have to go.” Adora tugged Catra’s hand and pulled her further down the tunnel, trying to outrun the virus.

A deep rumbling followed by a screech stopped them in their tracks a few minutes later. “W-What was that?” Catra stuttered.

“No idea. But I have the worst feeling it’s going to be standing in our way,” Adora muttered. Running a little further forward had the tunnel opening up into a chamber lit by First Ones’ tech, though the only thing the girls took note of was the huge, enraged creature blocking the continuation of the tunnel on the other side.

It would have been imposing and dangerous on its own, but the angular sigils of Prime’s virus running along the creature’s body made it even more terrifying. “Oh, this is so bad,” Catra murmured, claws coming out.

“Well.” Adora took a running start. Unable to call the sword forward completely, she instead landed a flying kick at the monster’s head and aimed a few punches before it grabbed her with a tentacle and threw her into the stone wall. She landed with a groan.

Catra hissed and moved to stand over her, slashing out at the reaching limb once before helping Adora to her feet. Adora stumbled, wincing as she brought a hand up to her side. 

“Don’t let it touch you,” she managed to get out, leaning against the wall for a moment.

“Why, what’s wrong?” Catra asked quickly. She took her eyes off the creature for just a second to see how Adora was doing. “First Ones,” she cursed, looking at the same sickly green now glowing against Adora’s skin through her torn clothing. 

“Yeah. Wasn’t expecting that one.” Adora tried to call the sword again, but it flickered and went back out. “Come _on_ ,” she growled. Pain spiked through her side and Adora gave up on the sword as it took all of her attention to just stay standing. Whatever this was, it was spreading fast. How had Prime made his - virus - infectious between living things? It made no sense. “Catra, I’m useless here.”

Catra leapt out of the way of a tentacle slamming down. “You need to get to the Heart. I can hold it off.”

“Not without you.” Adora backed away to give Catra more room to maneuver without having to worry about protecting her. “Every time we separate, terrible things happen. I’m not leaving.”

“Adora.” Catra managed to outrun the creature for a moment and get to Adora’s side. “It’s okay.” Looking up, she shoved Adora toward the opening of the cavern and clawed at the limb reaching for them. “Get out of here, okay? I’ll catch up.”

“No!”

A hand wrapped around her wrist as another covered a mouth. “The mutt is right, Adora,” Shadow Weaver’s voice curled in her ear. “You must get to the Heart.” Adora tried to scream through the barrier, but it was harshly muffled.

Catra heard her anyway - would always hear her. “Get _away_ from her!” She’d taken her attention off of the creature. Adora saw a tentacle slithering along the stone floor - tried to shout a warning - but could only watch in horror as it wrapped around Catra’s ankle and yanked her backward as she yelped. Catra slammed face first into the ground as the monster started reeling her in. 

Shadow Weaver dragged Adora in the opposite direction. Adora struggled and fought against the sorceress’ hold, but Prime’s infection was taking its toll on her body. It felt like her veins were burning, and the failsafe on her chest glowed and ached in response to the increasing threat. The last she saw of Catra was her digging her claws into the stone and causing a horrible screech as she tried to keep the monster from getting a better grip to finish her off, then Shadow Weaver tugged her around a bend in the tunnel.

Adora redoubled her efforts to escape, screaming for Catra all the while. “You _will_ be going to the Heart,” Shadow Weaver snarled, pushing Adora forward. “All that power - _free_.”

Adora jerked her arm loose at last and shoved the sorceress away. “I may have to go there, but _never_ with you,” she spat, summoning up as much courage as she could when faced with her nightmares. “You can’t hurt me anymore.” She spun and took off back the way she’d been forced to come, praying she’d find Catra before it was too late.

…

“Adora.”

She stumbled to a stop as the tunnel in front of her disappeared. How was she supposed to get to Catra when the whole place changed? Catra could _die_ any second, or Shadow Weaver might find her and drag her away again. She had to _go_.

But the scenery changed again, and now she was - outside, on a cliff? And Mara was there. “What is this?” Adora asked suspiciously. “Some defense mechanism by the Heart to distract me? I don’t have time for any tricks so just let me by.”

“No tricks Adora,” Mara said, voice calm and kind, like it always was. “You have just one last lesson to learn.”

* * *

Dying alone in the jaws of a terrible creature of the First Ones’ design and made ten times worse with the Horde’s machinations was not the way Catra had envisioned going out. She had kind of hoped to finally get that quiet life with Adora they always talked about. She hissed and jerked against the creature, getting nowhere. The skin it’d wrapped its limb around burned and ached. 

She’d failed Adora.

“So brave, Child. Sacrificing yourself for Adora, just as you always have.” The voice from her nightmares briefly pulled Catra’s attention away from clawing at the tentacle trying to pull her closer to the monster’s mouth. She looked up to see a hologram of Horde Prime, looming over her with a grin oozing superiority. “It will make no difference this time. Once the Heart is mine, your Adora _will_ die. It is only a matter of time.”

“I’m going to kill you if Adora doesn’t get to you first,” Catra growled, struggling harder against the limb holding her back. 

Prime chuckled, smug in his upcoming victory over yet another planet. “You’ve fought all your life, little sister - fought your whole life in her shadow. Tell me, was it worth it?”

As Catra was dragged into the air, she finally managed to swipe far enough with her claws to slash through the tentacle wrapped around her ankle and fell heavily to the ground as the monster shrieked in pain and rage. Catra spared a glance for the hologram. “Everything about her and every second _with_ her is more than worth it,” she spat. “It’s more than you’ll ever have. But I don’t have time for you.” She sprinted to the tunnel Shadow Weaver had taken Adora down, trading one nightmare in for another. “Adora!”

* * *

“Mara?” The word trembled coming out, and Adora shook her head. She had to pull herself together so she could get to Catra and then the Heart. She couldn’t stay distracted. “Why are you here? What lesson? I know I have to stop the Heart, but Prime, he -”

“All will fall into place if you allow it, Adora,” Mara reassured her. “Stop fighting so hard.”

An incredulous laugh burst from the teen. “That’s all I’ve ever done. My entire life has been a battle. To live, to keep Catra with me and safe, to save first the world and now the whole universe. Everything is a fight.”

Mara’s expression fell. “I never wanted another girl to have to shoulder that burden - the way I did. To know those stakes. I am sorry I spared the world for a millennium only for it to fall to you, Adora. But you have done so well, and she’ll be waiting for you.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Look at yourself.” Adora glanced down, surprised to find that she’d transformed into She-Ra for the first time since rescuing Catra. “She isn’t fighting you, Adora. She won’t try to take you away from her.”

* * *

The bolt of purplish-red magic burst suddenly from the shadows, forcing Catra to dive out of the way. “How many times must I kill you for you to stay dead, stray?”

“How many times do _I_ have to run circles around you before you finally give _up_ , Weaver?” Catra smirked, pulling on false confidence to try and goad the witch into making a mistake.

Shadow Weaver snarled and hurled another bolt Catra’s way.

* * *

“Learn to let the burden go, Adora,” Mara cautioned. “It is so heavy, I know - having a world rely on you. It is _so_ heavy. But She-Ra is only there to guide you, she is not _who_ you are. Accept that others love you and are also there to help you, as my squad was there to help me shoulder the burden. She is not meant to drag you down.”

Adora looked down, tring to gather her thoughts. “I just want - I want to help, but - everything hurts, Mara. All the time, it hurts. It’s all up to me, but I’m so scared of being alone.”

“You have never been alone, Adora. Who you are outside of She-Ra _matters_ \- Adora is who you are, no matter what has been done to you, and you have grown into such a wonderful young woman and have so many people who love you. They love Adora, not She-Ra, and beyond what She-Ra can do for them. Try to remember that, moving forward. You are _allowed_ to want to live for them, Adora. To want to live for her. Duty is not everything.”

“I just want her.”

Mara smiled, putting both hands on Adora’s shoulders and squeezing comfortingly before she leaned forward to press a kiss to the crown of Adora’s head as Adora shut her eyes. “Then what are you waiting for?”

...

Adora started, eyes glancing wildly about. Stone walls surrounded her. Where was - Shadow Weaver had dragged her away. She’d forced Adora to leave Catra to die. “Catra!”

* * *

“You have interfered for the last time, Catra,” Shadow Weaver hissed.

Catra snarled right back, glancing around frantically for Adora. “What did you do to her? Where is she?!” She had to play this carefully. In such close quarters, Shadow Weaver would have the clear advantage even with her limited magic with Catra unable to maneuver around the way she liked to in a fight. 

But as Catra readied herself, another - so, so familiar - voice echoed through the tunnels. “Get _away_ from her!” She-Ra bodily forced herself between Shadow Weaver and Catra, thrusting Catra backward. 

When had Adora gotten control of She-Ra back? There wasn’t a single flicker in her form as she stood protectively in front of Catra, glaring at Shadow Weaver and the line of her shoulders filled with tension. “Adora?” 

“Good of you to re-join us Adora,” Shadow Weaver said, sickly sweet. “Have you finally come to your senses?”

For once, Adora’s attention wasn’t focused on Catra as she looked for Shadow Weaver to make the first move of aggression. “No thanks to you. Get out of our way, Shadow Weaver. Don’t make me do this.”

“You were always too soft-hearted to do what was necessary.”

“What was _necessary_? I didn’t want to hurt people! How does that make me a bad person? Why did that make you hurt me - punish Catra?”

Shadow Weaver chuckled. “It made you a terrible soldier - never listening. I wouldn’t have had to alter the flow of your mind so many times if you’d just _behaved_. I would have unseated Hordak with you, had all that _power_ , but your precious mutt always took priority, no matter how much of her I erased from your mind.” 

Catra considered silently circling out from behind Adora, hoping to maybe flank the witch and take her while she was distracted. This was all building to a head, and she wanted to be the one to make the final move before Adora had to. 

“I hate you - but I don’t want to kill you. Don’t make me.”

“She will always be standing in your way, as you have forever deemed it necessary to stand against _me_. Allow me to narrow your focus.” She raised a hand, deep red energy gathering within her palm as she aimed right at Catra before she could move more than a foot from Adora’s back.

" _NO_!”

It all happened so quickly even Catra couldn’t keep up. One moment, She-Ra was blocking her view and threatening Shadow Weaver, protecting her, and the next...it was just Adora, stumbling over her own feet, back in her own body with the sword no longer in her hands. Catra dared to glance away from Adora and found Shadow Weaver, sprawled a dozen feet further away than she had been, blade lodged in her midsection as if she’d been propelled away from them by the force of Adora’s power. She took a cautious step forward.

Adora dropped to her hands and knees and vomited, tears running down her face despite eyes clenched shut so she wouldn’t have to see the body. Catra hurried back, almost falling in her rush to get to Adora’s side again. “Hey, I’ve got you,” she murmured gently and pressed a kiss to her temple. “It’s over - we’re okay.”

“I’m sorry - I didn’t want to kill anyone - I didn’t want to,” Adora cried weakly.

“I know ‘Dora. It wasn’t your fault. We’re alright, I promise.” 

Catra just held Adora for a few minutes, getting her to lean back against her chest to open up her breathing. Coaching her through a panic attack they way they’d done for each other since they were small. Maybe if they won today, they would begin to come less and less often.

“Come on Catra. We have to go,” Adora finally muttered after getting her breathing under control.

“You’re not going far like this, Adora.”

Adora grunted, pulling herself to her feet before stumbling. Catra swooped in and caught her. “Then I guess you’ll have to help.”

“Why are you so stubborn?” Catra asked, only fondness in her tone.

“Face it - it’s why we’re friends,” Adora chuckled weakly, hand going back to her side. “We’re the only ones stubborn enough for each other.”

“You’re not wrong.” Catra slowly helped Adora limp along the tunnel. The green arcs of Prime’s virus laced along the walls ahead of them, paving the way through the darkness to the Heart. Finally, the tunnel opened up into a much larger cavern than the one the monster had occupied, with a huge, glowing crystal like structure floating above. “Whoa,” Catra uttered.

“This is it.” Adora stood a little straighter, wincing.

“Will it work?” Catra asked, still holding most of Adora’s weight despite the screaming protest in her leg.

“It has to,” Adora murmured as she held out her hand.


	26. Chapter 26

Adora held out her hand, calling for the sword. Pain arced up her side from where the infected monster had slashed her, and her hold on She-Ra flickered away again. Adora cried out as it felt like a tearing within her pulled She-Ra out of her reach. She’d been afraid this would happen. 

Catra caught her as Adora’s knees gave out and sent her careening back. “What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked frantically, supporting Adora as best she could. 

“I don’t - I don’t know.” Adora looked down at her hands, willing the sword to appear. “I can’t do it.” Like a response to the pulsing within her, the green of Prime’s virus slowly encroached on the Heart, reaching tendrils for its epicenter while Adora worked to stave it off within her own body. “It’s Prime’s virus,” she gasped out. “It’s keeping me from becoming She-Ra.” She was so tired - her body didn’t want to fight it anymore.

“What does that mean? Will the failsafe not work without her?” Catra had a sinking idea she knew the answer already. That Adora had been right the night before, and this would be something Catra couldn’t save her from.

Adora’s hand came up to hover over the mark of the failsafe on her chest. “No,” she murmured, voice deadened with acceptance. “It’ll work.” The failsafe glowed and the virus worked further along Adora’s body, making her wince as she moved away from Catra and looked up at the Heart. “Is it too much to ask for you to get as far away from here as you can?” she asked with a half-hearted smile, not even daring to hope that Catra would see sense. “I can do this next part on my own.” She didn’t want Catra to have to watch her die.

“Adora,” Catra said quietly from behind her. “What is going to happen to you?” She had to hear Adora say it.

Of course this wouldn’t be easy. Adora looked down at the failsafe. “If I can’t bring out She-Ra, the magic will destroy me. I can feel it trying,” she admitted. Adora forced herself to turn around and face Catra, meeting her gaze. “I’m sorry Kit,” she apologized, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I can’t keep my promise, but there’s no more time. It has to end here - I can still save everybody. I can save you.” Adora took a few steps forward to wrap her hands around the back of Catra’s head, letting her fingers sink into the short hair. She pulled her close to bring their heads together as Catra hung on to her wrists, her own tears leaking out. “It’s okay,” Adora whispered. “I can do this.”

She tried to pull away, but Catra clung to her and brought Adora’s hands to her chest, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “No.”

“Catra,” Adora’s voice broke.

“No. I’m never leaving you. No matter what happens, I am _staying_ with you.”

Relief flooded through Adora, overpowering any guilt that might have tried to make an appearance. She could be brave, if Catra was there with her. 

The failsafe burned on her chest as the virus inched closer to both her heart and Etheria’s. Adora screamed in pain and collapsed forward into Catra - would have fallen the rest of the way if Catra hadn’t kept her held against her chest protectively. “Adora? Adora!” Adora groaned, going limp as the virus took over. She could barely feel Catra’s hands on her anymore. “No no no no no no! NO!”

It hurt to breathe. Adora’s hand trembled as she tried to summon She-Ra, but the warrior was too far away. She’d been so - _confused_ , lately. Everything about choice and what was considered selfish of her and what she had a right to want. She’d let Shadow Weaver get in her head, something Adora had sworn she would never let happen again. She’d forgotten what She-Ra had been for her since the beginning - what Mara had been trying to tell her. The warrior had always come when Catra - the people she loved - needed her. Adora had lost that somewhere and now, She-Ra was out of her reach.

It was over.

“Adora. Adora, stay awake! Stay with me,” Catra ordered, holding Adora close as she glanced at the virus creeping up on the Heart. 

Adora forced her eyes open, wanting to see Catra just once more. “I’m sorry,” she muttered weakly, lifting her hand to touch the clawed one cupping her cheek and drawing Catra’s attention back to her. All her strength suddenly faded, and her arm fell limply back to the floor as consciousness left her. 

She’d never get the chance to say it.

The last thing she heard was Catra yelling her name. 

...

Adora’s eyes shot open to a view of the waterfall outside their home. Where was - she was having trouble remembering. She was supposed to be doing something. What was she - oh, the ball. Her and Catra were due to leave their home in the Whispering Woods and get to Bright Moon in time to prepare with Glimmer and Bow for Scorpia’s first Princess Prom. Scorpia had been planning for nearly two years with Perfuma’s help and was sure to pull out all the stops.

Their home - the Woods. Adora looked around, still feeling out of sorts. This was their home, yes. It was at once unknown and the most familiar place in the world to her. No longer in the treetops, with the addition of -

“Finn!”

A tiny blonde kitten came bursting through the cracked open door and clawed their way up Adora’s pants. Adora absently helped them perch on her shoulders, their chubby, furry little legs wrapped tightly around her neck. This was Finn. Of course. Her and Catra’s child, who Adora loved more than anything. Why was she having such a hard time remembering?

“Finn, you love it when I brush your fur - just let me do it!” Catra huffed, entering the room a moment later, out of breath from their chase. Her mane had grown out and was held back in a long, bushy ponytail that suited her perfectly. Why did it feel like Adora had never seen her hair like that before? Catra wore it that way every day now, to keep it away from Finn’s growing fangs and claws. “If you’re going to be crawling all around in the trees and getting into messes, you _will_ be getting brushed,” she threatened. “Don’t be so dramatic about it; that’s Aunt Mermista’s job.”

Adora looked up. Finn did indeed have leaves and little sticks emerging in every direction of their wild hair. The baby looked extremely proud and stuck their tongue out at Catra before ducking under Adora’s hair and playing with it.

“You are so your mom’s kitten.” Catra rolled her eyes and wrangled her kid off Adora. “You know that if we’re late to Auntie Scorpia’s ball she will be very sad,” she warned. “It’s both of yours first ones, and she wants it to be special for the two of you, which means you are _so_ not off the hook you little monster.”

Finn perked up and mewled at the mention of their second favorite godparent of the nearly dozen they had. Double Trouble always took first place, but Scorpia was adored by all the children born since the end of the war. Adora knew this - why did she feel like she shouldn’t? What was going on?

“Hey.” Catra’s soft voice brought Adora back to the present. One of her arms was occupied with Finn, now happily suckling on the tip of Catra’s tail, the other hand held out for Adora to take. “You coming?” she asked with a loving smile.

Forget it. This was where Adora wanted to be - whatever else was going on didn’t matter. She smiled and reached for Catra’s hand, only for hers to fall right through it. The world around her froze and a voice Adora knew would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life - right alongside Shadow Weaver’s - spoke. “A beautiful wish for you and your beloved,” Horde Prime sneered as the image of Catra and their child glitched. “But there will be no such future. Not for you.” He disappeared along with the dream his virus had created in her mind, leaving behind only the sickly green that seemed to pervade her soul.

Everything was so _heavy_. No matter how Adora struggled, she was held fast and unable to escape. The burden became too much and her efforts slowed as she gave up, tears falling while the world darkened around her. 

The Heart of Etheria. The virus. The Horde. 

She hadn’t been able to stop any of it. Adora’s eyes slipped shut - maybe it would be fast. Maybe Catra would follow her when the Heart finally managed to destroy Etheria as the First Ones had always intended. Maybe they’d finally have peace.

“Adora!” _Catra_. Catra was still there - still fighting. Adora looked desperately for the source of her voice, finding it in a little arrow of light from the real world. Catra was leaning through, searching for Adora. Probably just a figment of her imagination but Adora clung to it. “Adora please! You have to wake up!” she yelled. 

She was sleeping? No - she suddenly recalled the virus taking over her body, shutting it down. She was dying. And Catra, she was trying to get Adora to fight again. One more time. 

...

Catra held the girl she loved close, trying to think of anything she could say that would make Adora want to come back. All the times they’d found each other - no matter what. All the times they’d _saved_ each other. It couldn’t end here.

“You can’t give up. You have _never_ given up on anything in your life. Especially not us.”

…

“So don’t you _dare_ start now!”

Adora could see Catra’s hand straining desperately for her to grab. She was _so_ close, but Adora was _tired_. Tired of fighting, tired of losing. Still, she mustered all the flagging strength she had to reach out one last time. She battled against Prime’s virus, the deathly feeling it had set deep in her bones, in her magic, and fought one more time for Catra. 

It was too hard.

Catra was still trying to reach her, but it would be in vain. Adora couldn’t do it. The virus would take her, and Etheria would die with her and the rest of the universe. If only she could spare Catra the pain of watching her die.

“It’s too late. I failed you _._ ”

“No, no! You never have!”

… 

Adora’s breathing was pained and fading out. The green had spread to her face and was barely an inch from the failsafe engraved on her chest. Panic rose in Catra as she held onto Adora tighter, praying for one more miracle. After everything they’d been through.

“You can do this. I’ve got you. I’m not letting go,” she promised.

...

“You have to know,” Catra choked out, fighting harder than she ever had in her life. “I love you! I always have! So _please_ just once more - _STAY!_ ” 

Adora put in one last effort, and their hands connected, clutching tight. Horde Prime’s sickly green faded around her as she hung on to Catra’s hand with every bit of strength she had left. The failsafe glowed bright on her chest, burning, aching, but She-Ra’s magic answered its call this time. Becoming aware of her surroundings again, Adora could _feel_ the Heart of Etheria lashing out with all the magic the First One’s had stolen a millennium ago and misused, ready to unleash that wrath on the very planet the magic had been meant to protect. 

“ _Stay_.” The plea was whispered into her neck as a soft kiss landed on the skin there.

No more.

She-Ra was there, ready and waiting beneath her skin to fulfill the final purpose of Mara and her Grayskull Rebels. To finally set the world right. As Etheria’s captive magic raged around them, only one thing was on Adora’s mind: the arms holding her and the body hovering over her own in a desperate attempt to protect her from the Heart. Summoning the shield had never been easier, Adora truly at peace with She-Ra for the first time in the three years they had inhabited the same body. Together they could protect the girl they loved more than all of Etheria.

The Heart darkened as the failsafe flashed on her chest, ready for one last destructive burst of energy - then calmed, appeased and recognizing the higher authority. Adora felt the danger recede and let the shield fade. Then she could feel Catra again, could tell that she was looking where the shield had been before her eyes were drawn back to Adora’s now looking up at her, hardly daring to hope. Adora felt it all. The three different magics - She-Ra, the failsafe, and the Heart - were all still swirling in her chest, ready for their final duty, but Adora had something more important to say first.

“You love me.” It wasn’t a question. She couldn’t hold back the smile on her face as her deepest want from the last - her entire life - was finally spoken when both of them could hear it. 

Catra could only shake her head, her own elated smile breaking. “Of course, you idiot.” Laughter was in her voice as her wildest dream came true. Her ears perked up at the look in Adora’s eyes - so full of something she’d been seeing for years, but had never dared place a name to, fearing that she would lose Adora long before they were ready.

“I love you too,” Adora whispered, emotion ringing true in her tone. She’d never meant four words more. 

Catra’s entire posture softened, bliss taking over her features. She shook her head again, hardly able to believe what was happening. Only moments ago, Adora had been on the verge of death. And now - now Catra could do one last thing to make this perfect. Her hand cupped Adora’s cheek and both their eyes closed as Catra leaned down for a long-awaited, desperately yearned for kiss.

White sparked across her closed eyelids, but Catra was too focused on the feel of Adora’s lips against her own to pay any attention to it. The shift of the body beneath her was of no consequence, so long as Adora didn’t try to separate them. “I love you,” Adora repeated when they finally had to breathe, holding Catra close against her chest as she waited for the last of Prime’s virus to fade from the Heart.

Catra looked up at her face, startling as she realized Adora had somehow managed to change into She-Ra without either of them noticing. “I love you too,” she replied, “but I think you might have a job to do.” 

Adora looked down at herself, huffing when she saw what had happened. “Crazy magic,” she muttered, no heat to it. She was too happy to be frustrated about anything right then.

“Go on,” Catra encouraged. She clambered to her feet and held out her hand to pull Adora up. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“This won’t take long,” Adora promised. She seemed to hesitate a moment, then ducked back in for one more kiss before she darted away, leaving Catra stunned.

Oh, she was in so much trouble, Catra was beginning to realize, though she had a hard time feeling upset about it. Finally being able to love Adora the way she’d wanted for years and only just realized might be possible a few months ago? Worth every tiny embarrassment that was sure to come whenever she got overwhelmed by her emotions. She wiped away the tears that had turned from fearful to happy ones over the last few minutes and followed the girl she loved back out into the world.

* * *

Adora looked up at the massive tree that had once been Horde Prime’s ship, satisfied. She was fairly certain the Whispering Woods would appreciate her efforts of spreading the forest. The thought would have made her giggle if not for the soft call of her name. Joy sang through her heart at the sight that greeted her when she turned around. Catra - fully healed and with no sign of Prime’s green virus left anywhere, just like her - slowly closed the distance between them, placing her hand in the one Adora held out, having already come to miss her in the ten minutes they’d been without each other after the Heart. Adora reeled her in until their foreheads met in a tender touch, letting her eyes close so she could savor the feel of Catra’s purring against her skin. “It’s over,” was all Adora could think to say. “They’re gone.” The utter relief of finally being out from under Shadow Weaver’s influence for good - that Catra wouldn’t have to be afraid of Prime anymore - was making her giddy. All she wanted was to kiss Catra again. She could do that now - it was allowed.

Catra’s smile was beatific as she pressed herself closer against Adora. “Good riddance to them both,” she murmured, purring as hard as she could. And like an answer to Adora’s dreams, she leaned in just that little bit further, enough to let their lips meet in their second real kiss. “I love you,” Catra whispered, lips moving against Adora’s and making her shudder. 

“I love you,” Adora replied with an easy grin, hardly able to contain herself. All those years loving Catra - long before she’d ever learned of the existence of that word - and she finally could say it. Nothing was stopping her from telling Catra again and again. “I love you,” she repeated just for good measure. Because she could. “I think I’ve loved you forever.”

Before everything, Catra might have made a joke, teased Adora, but this was different. Adora deserved everything Catra felt, always. “I loved you the moment you picked me,” she said, recalling the hazy memory of Adora grabbing onto her as a toddler and refusing to let go until Shadow Weaver relented and let them be in the same Beginners’ Squad. The sight of the scar the failsafe had branded into Adora’s chest that She-Ra could heal but not remove had Catra leaning down to lay a gentle kiss over the sensitive skin as she caressed the ridges of the scars she’d left on Adora’s back. A gentle promise that she’d never let Adora be hurt again. “And I loved you every time after that.”

Adora couldn’t help pressing another kiss to her lips when Catra stood straight again, then more over her cheeks and nose and forehead and everywhere she could reach as Catra giggled. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bow and Glimmer practically vibrating with excitement and wanting to be a part of the celebration, but she was grateful to them for holding off. She _needed_ this moment with Catra and her only. “What do we do now?” she wondered. “Live in Bright Moon? We could go back to the Woods - I think they’d like that. I know you miss them.”

“I was thinking,” Catra said, her smile never dropping. “That you weren’t wrong about space. It’s - peaceful. Up there with you was the safest I’ve felt since we left the Woods.”

“We _did_ just bring magic back to Etheria,” Adora mused. “Would be a shame to keep it to ourselves, don’t you think?” She shot another glance at Bow and Glimmer, who were inching closer. “You up for one more Best Friend Squad road trip?”

The searing kiss was response enough. “Anywhere with you,” Catra whispered. “You’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” Adora swore. “Always.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

They’d never broken a promise to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. That's it - epilogue up tomorrow. Hope ya'll enjoyed the ride.


	27. Epilogue

“I want to go home.”

The announcement was a bit abrupt for so early in the morning, startling Catra out of her half awake consumption of her breakfast. Bow and Glimmer were similarly surprised but Adora didn’t falter. She was staring at Catra, arms crossed and eyes determined. Her food wasn’t even touched, so Catra knew it was serious.

“Catra, I want to go home.”

“Okay,” Catra responded slowly, still trying to catch up but she held out a hand to stop Glimmer when it looked like she was going to say something. This was about Adora. “You want to go back to the Woods. Permanently?”

Adora thought about it, conflicted. “I think so but maybe not like - all the time? I know we agreed on that second trip to space and I still want to do that, but afterward I want to go home. Then - can we keep our room here and come whenever we want?”

“Of course we can. What brought this up?” Catra asked gently. She rose from her chair to move the six inches so she could be in Adora’s lap. Strong hands came up to hold her around the waist as Adora dropped her head to Catra’s shoulder.

“Everyone - you, Melog, even Mara - has been telling me that what I want matters and that I’m someone beyond just being She-Ra and trying to survive. Saying it for years in your case, Catra. So, in the spirit of that - this is what I want. I want to marry you, like Spinnerella and Netossa, and I want to go home.”

A grin broke out across Catra’s face, refusing to be held back. “Marry me, huh? Didn’t we just kiss for the first time two days ago? I’m pretty sure the world was ending when I kissed you so yeah. Two days ago. Aren’t we moving a little fast?” she teased.

Adora grunted and tickled at Catra’s sides, making her shriek with laughter. “Shut up,” she muttered. “I’ve loved you since we were six and I want to marry you.”

“Not that I’m against it, but what made you think of this all of a sudden?” 

Adora hesitated for the first time. “When I was dying, down in the Heart -” Adora held Catra tighter when she flinched, “- I had this, this vision. I don’t know if it was caused by the virus, or my imagination, or if it actually was our future, but I wanted it.”

Those beautiful, different colored eyes met hers. “What happened in it?”

Adora nuzzled into the side of Catra’s neck, content to hide there. “We lived in the Woods, and we were getting ready to go to the next Princess Prom, so if it happens, it’s going to be in about eight years. And Catra. Catra we were _happy_. We had a little house, and we were safe. And Kit, you’re not going to believe this.”

“Tell me?”

“We had the most perfect little baby kitten. They looked just like you except blonde, and I loved them so much,” Adora gushed, already so full of adoration for the child she wasn’t even sure would ever exist. “That’s what I want Catra. Whether that was the future or not, I want to try for it.”

There were tears building in Catra’s eyes, but she was smiling and purring so hard it vibrated through Adora’s chest. Unbeknownst to either girl, Glimmer and Bow had made a silent exit to leave them to their talk. Some things just weren’t meant to be witnessed. Even by best friends. 

“So, I know that we just started all this and maybe it’s too fast, but I love you Catra. We swore we’d always be together. We still have so much to learn about how to do this properly, about how to be together so that - we’re healthy about it, I guess - but what’s the difference if we’re married, really?” Adora tugged off the golden wing pin that had been part of her outfit since shortly after they’d come to Bright Moon. Catra was pretty sure it was the first gift - from Glimmer - that either of them had ever received from someone that wasn’t each other. Adora never took it off. “We promised forever,” she said, offering the pin to Catra.

A hand closed over the one holding the pin as Catra leaned up to kiss Adora hard. “We really are all mixed up about everything, aren’t we?” she asked with a watery laugh once they broke apart. “Nothing’s in the right order.”

“Yeah, well you know me. Always charging in.”

“I love you.” Catra kissed Adora again just because she wanted to and she was still getting used to being allowed to. “Of course I want to go home with you, and of course I want to marry you. And I’m so _proud_ of you Adora.”

“What’d I do?” Adora asked quizzically.

Catra shook her head, so _so_ fond of this girl. “You told me what you wanted. Without anyone having to drag it out of you or someone being on the verge of dying. You just told me. And I am so proud of you for learning and growing and putting yourself first. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to let me take care of you the way you always took care of me. Thank you Adora.”

Adora had gone bright red with embarrassment and she ducked her head with a groan, making Catra laugh. “You better not be making fun of me,” Adora grumbled good-naturedly.

“I swear to you I’m not,” Catra reassured her. “I’ve never been more in love with you than I am right now. Or prouder. I love you, Adora.”

“I love you too.”

The pair enjoyed the other’s presence for a few minutes, basking in the comfort of having zero responsibilities to rush to for the first time in years. “So - do we have to move out like, today, or can I have a couple more days to sleep before you make me build you a whole new house?”

Teeth nipped at the skin of her neck, making Catra squeal. “The Woods built us our house the first time you jerk. And no, I don’t need it to be right away. And I still want to be here, too, with Glimmer and Bow and the other princesses when they’re around. But I want to go home.”

“There’s nothing I’d like more. And once we have that house, we can see about that kitten,” Catra promised. Adora’s blinding smile and gratitude filled kiss were more than enough to tell Catra that she’d said the right thing. “All the kittens and kids, and raise them how we should have been.”

“Razz can babysit,” Adora joked.

“Razz would run off in a second,” Catra immediately denied. “Or she’d think they were a pie and put them in her oven. No, the Woods can babysit our kids. Or Scorpia. She’d be a good babysitter. Where has she been anyway?”

Adora thought for a second. “I think I saw her head off with Perfuma and Frosta yesterday for the Kingdom of Snows. I think they were going to make sure Frosta was all set for a bit and then Perfuma was going to help Scorpia with organizing the Fright Zone.”

“Cool. I give them a month before Scorpia is making eyes at ‘Fuma,” Catra decided. “And then little scorpion flower babies to play with our kittens. And Mermista and Seahawk’s kids will just set fire to everything. First Ones, it’s going to be chaotic.”

A content smile crossed Adora’s face as she settled into the curve of Catra’s body, happy to spend a few more minutes at the breakfast table cuddling with her. “I can’t wait.”

“Well, me neither.”

“I love you.” She was never going to be able to say or hear those words enough times in one day to ever be satisfied. So Adora would settle for saying it as often as she could.

“Love you too.”

For the first time, their future was in easy reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Healing for Adora will take years. The point of the epilogue wasn't to wrap everything into a nice little bow, but to show her taking those first couple steps she needs to take to even begin that process. How Catra is there every step of the way for her in finding a balance. Adora will get there.
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who followed this - I hope I in any way made the hellscape of 2020 a little bit brighter for a few folks. I know writing this sure helped me through multiple bouts of quarantine, lockdown, and uncertainty. Just keep going, guys.


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